It is the duty of all - the parties, candidates and media - to also cooperate and abide by the laws
With the local elections scheduled for Friday, May 13, the silence period has commenced, effective from Tuesday midnight. Accordingly, the political parties and candidates cannot carry out any promotional activities on Wednesday and Thursday. According to the Election Commission, they cannot engage in any election publicity or hold any debate, interaction, assembly, workshop/seminar during the silence period. All parties and candidates are required to remove all publicity materials placed within a 300-metre perimeter of a polling centre and also from their social media accounts with the commencement of the silence period. They are also prohibited from soliciting votes from the electorate on any medium during the period, which means they cannot post any message, information or publicity materials on social media, online, print and other media in support of any party or candidate. The EC has issued stern warnings to the parties and candidates to strictly adhere to the code of conduct or face tough action from it. Anyone violating the EC rules can be penalised with a Rs 100,000 fine or, if necessary, even have the candidacy of the contestant terminated.
But will it? It is because the EC had failed to take any action in the past that the parties and candidates tend to take its poll code lightly.
The EC has mobilised an 18-member team headed by a Joint Secretary as well as placed mechanisms in the districts and at the rural municipality level to monitor the parties and candidates to see if they are abiding by the silence period code. But with about 145,000 candidates from 79 registered parties as well as independents vying for 35,221 positions in the local level election, it is a horrendous task for the EC to keep a tab of all their activities.
While the parties and candidates have largely abided by the poll code in the past and stopped their promotional campaigns in the streets with the beginning of the silence period, the EC is worried about the misuse of the social media by them. It has, therefore, sought the help of cyber bureau experts of the Nepal Police and the Nepali Army, who will monitor the sites of the candidates and parties to see if they have removed all publicity materials or added new ones.
Also, compared to the hills and mountains, the Tarai belt is notorious for breaking the poll code, especially during the silence period. Weeks of campaigning do not hold much sway over the voters in the plains as the fate of the candidates is sealed during the 48 hours prior to the elections. As night falls, there is much bargaining between the candidates and the brokers who will guarantee large numbers of voters for good sums of money. Voters too get wooed by what they can bargain for in the few hours before the election date. Can the EC take action against candidates engaging in the unethical practice of buying votes, which is common knowledge? While the onus of giving all candidates a level playing field lies with the EC, it has its limitations. As citizens of this country, it is the duty of all - the parties, candidates and media - to also cooperate and abide by the laws.
Only then can we expect a free and fair poll, acceptable to all.
Karnali women's woes
Women voters in Karnali province have said they will support those candidates who are ready to address their issues and are also committed to gender equality. However, sad to say, the major political parties have not fielded women candidates for chief positions of the urban and rural municipalities. Karnali province is the most backward region in terms of education, health care, connectivity and overall human development index.
The major problems faced by Karnali's women include lack of access to parturition services in each of the wards, dilapidating condition of district hospitals, long-held tradition of Chhaupadi, and early and child marriage. Elected local level officials can bring about change on those issues if they are honest and sincere to their voters. No organisation, either government agency or NGO, can play a vital role in addressing women's issues than the elected leaders, who have wide networks in the community. Women representatives, especially the dalits, could play a big role in the society if they got elected. Hence, the voters must be wise enough to choose those candidates who can address these pressing issues by roping in capable people in the decision-making process.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
