March 6: The government has downsized the budget demanded by the Election Commission for the upcoming local level election scheduled to be held on May 13. 

The Ministry of Finance has assured a budget that is less than the demand put forth by the commission after it was unable to secure financial support from the donor agencies.

After the Election Commission warned that it would be difficult to hold the election on time if the budget is not released, the Ministry of Finance assured a budget of Rs 8.11 billion against Rs 12 billion demanded by the commission.

The commission sent a revised budget demanding Rs 8.95 billion by reducing expenditures on various headings after the ministry said it could not release the budget demanded by the commission.

Spokesperson for the commission Shaligram Sharma Poudel informed that the budget secure by the ministry will be spent on conducting the election and its management. 

He is of the view that it will be difficult for them to manage the budget but they have intensified preparations to hold the election on time. 

The EC has made preparations to print 20 million ballot papers for the upcoming election. They have already signed agreements with suppliers to buy the papers required for making the ballot papers. EC officials say that they are buying papers for Rs 110 million. 

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also demanded election expenses from the Ministry of Finance. However, the Ministry of Finance has not yet secured the financial sources. The Home Ministry has demanded Rs 16 billion from the MoF in the initial phase for the election. 

Nepal Police had sent details to the Home Ministry saying that Rs 12 billion is needed for security of the election. Nepal Police had demanded the amount saying that it needs to recruit 118,000 temporary police for the security of 11,000 polling stations as in the previous election. 

Likewise, the Armed Police Force also demanded Rs 500 million. According to the Home Ministry, the proposal has been sent to the MoF to ensure the budget, but no response has been received yet. According to Home Ministry spokesperson Phanindra Mani Pokhrel, no decision has been taken on hiring temporary police yet as the budget has not been secured.