" If the local elections are any guide, the parties would so well not to take the EC lightly "
With the federal and provincial elections less than two months away, the Election Commission (EC) has enforced the poll code of conduct from Wednesday. The EC has asked all the stakeholders, in particular the political parties and candidates, to strictly abide by the 60-point directive so that it does not have to issue a single show cause notice for violating the code. Since anyone can bring to notice any violation of the poll code through any medium, the EC is confident that this will aid in its effective implementation.
Going by the directives to the parties, the EC looks determined to create a level playing field for all the candidates and parties, big and small, while maintaining impartiality, transparency and an environment free from fear. If the local elections are any guide, then it would be in the interest of the parties and candidates not to take the election code of conduct lightly. The EC has slapped fines on 124,000 candidates, including Kathmandu's Mayor Balen Shah, mostly for not submitting their poll expenditure details within the given time.
The election code of conduct has barely come into being, but it has already met with opposition from the political parties. The Nepali Congress, during a press meet in Kathmandu the other day, said that the poll code was not practical. It is opposed, for instance, to the provision that allows the Prime Minister and ministers to campaign only in their constituencies, thus barring them from visiting different parts of the country to seek support for their respective parties. However, the EC has hinted that it might lift this restriction, thus letting the Prime Minister, federal ministers, Chief Minister and provincial ministers to address rallies beyond their constituencies.
However, the EC will ensure that the PM and ministers do not use government resources when doing so. It might also reconsider the provision that allows only upto 25 people to participate in the rally of candidates while filing their nominations for the election.
The EC is also expected to relax the provision that allows the parties and candidates to start campaigning just 17 days before the election.
It is hard to say if the EC will succeed in its mission to make the elections fair for everyone. It is a fact that elections in Nepal, as elsewhere in its neighbourhood, have always been fought on the strength of money and muscle power, with the end justifying the means. It is against this backdrop that Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya has said that the poll code has been enacted to ensure that the polls are fought on ideology and principles, and not by using money or unfair means. Accordingly, both candidates and parties must inform the EC regularly about the expenditure details and source of income.
The EC has a particularly tough job monitoring the poll campaign activities in the Tarai belt, given the open border with India, which has been used to slip in both goons and vehicles for use by the parties.
If the EC can tighten the election expenses and bring to book the unruly parties and candidates who violate the poll code of conduct, it will have set a good precedent for the country's future elections.
Smart streetlights
A total of 450 smart streetlights have been installed along the Koteshwor-Suryabinayak road section to make road travel safe at night and to enhance the urban beauty. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) installed the lamps in coordination with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, and Madhyapur Thimi and Bhaktapur municipalities, which are supposed to pay the electricity bills in their areas to the NEA. As per the Ujyalo Sahar campaign, NEA has been installing smart streetlights on the main roads, historical sites listed in the World Heritage List and at popular tourist destinations in coordination and partnership with the municipalities.
Smart streetlights, which consume less electricity but provide more light, can be controlled automatically from the feeder panel in the authority's system. These streetlights have been installed with an investment ratio of 60 per cent by the municipalities and 40 per cent by the NEA. Pedestrians and motorists will greatly benefit from the installation of the streetlights. The existing row between the municipalities and NEA should not resurface over the payment of electricity bills of such streetlights and the maintenance of the system installed. NEA and municipalities must abide by the mutual agreements.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 29, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
