Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: More than half of the candidates contesting the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5 have defied the Election Commission’s call to open a separate bank account for their campaign spending.
According to the Election Commission (EC), only 1,670 out of 3,406 candidates have opened separate bank accounts for their campaign spending so far. Similarly, only 11 out of 65 parties participating in the elections have opened separate bank accounts.
EC Assistant Spokesperson Sita Poudel Shrees said only the Nepali Congress, Rastriya Janamorcha, Nepal Communist Party (Unified), Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Party for Nepal, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal, United Citizens Party, Miteri Party, Nepal Janata Protection Party, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, and Rastriya Janamukti Party have opened separate bank accounts for election spending.
EC introduced the provision of making election spending through separate bank accounts to ensure transparency in financial assistance received by political parties and candidates, to enforce the spending limits set by the election law, and to enable effective monitoring. However, most of the political parties and candidates have failed to comply with the EC’s direction.
As per the House of Representatives Election Campaign Bank Account (Operation and Management) Procedure, all political parties registered with the Commission to participate in the election, both under the proportional representation and first-past-the-post systems, as well as their candidates and independent candidates, are required to open bank accounts for election campaigning. They have been instructed to conduct all income and expenditure transactions related to financial assistance through the designated accounts.
In line with the procedure, NRB issued a circular to licensed institutions to facilitate the opening of separate bank accounts for parties and candidates on the recommendation of respective election offices.
