Majority of Parties, Candidates yet to Open Accounts for Election Spending

With less than a week to go before the March 5 House of Representatives elections, only 1,670 of the 3,406 candidates contesting under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system have opened bank accounts for election purposes, the Election Commission said on Friday, February 27.

Despite more than five dozen political parties fielding candidates, only 11 parties have opened the accounts for election spending.

Assistant spokesperson Sita Pun Shrees said the parties that have complied include Nepali Congress, Rastriya Janamorcha, CPN Unified, Nepali Communist Party, Nepal Ka Lagi Nepali Party, Janata Samajwadi Party, Samyukta Nagarik Party, Miteri Party, Nepal Janata Sanrakshyan Party, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party and Rastriya Janamukti Party.

The Commission has made it mandatory for political parties, their candidates and independent contenders to open separate bank accounts for election campaigning. The requirement aims to ensure transparency and compliance with the legally prescribed spending ceiling.

(With inputs from RSS)