63 people have received recommendations from the District Election Office to open a bank account.
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With six days left for the House of Representatives elections, most candidates have started campaigning without opening accounts. The question arises as to where and how they are spending their campaign expenses.
Under the election code of conduct issued by the commission for financial transparency, candidates have been made required to open separate accounts for election campaigning, stating that income and expenditure should be transparent. But the candidates of the main competing parties in the four constituencies here have not opened accounts. The commission has designated the head of the Office of the Controller of Treasury and Accounts as the monitoring officer for financial transactions.
According to Radheshyam Giri, head of the Office of the Controller, only 17 out of a total of 110 candidates from all four constituencies have provided account details. The commission has said that after opening an account, the details should be provided to the Kolenika after taking a recommendation from the District Election Office. ‘Candidates who have not opened an account have been asked,’ said the head of the Kolenika, Giri. ‘There was no coercion. They themselves had to understand the sense of responsibility and accountability.'
According to Giri, the chief of the Kolenika, Ganesh Dhimal of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Constituency No. 1, Ramkishore Yadav of the JSP in Constituency No. 2, Ramesh Yadav of the NCP, Jwalakumari Sah of the UML in Constituency No. 3, Arbind Sah of the RSS, Shyambabu Gupta of the Congress in Constituency No. 4, Sarbendra Khanal of the Rastriya Parivartan Party, Sanju Sah of the JSP, and 17 others have provided their account details. The official campaigning began on Falgun 4. However, he said that since the candidates did not provide their account details, it is not clear where the source of the expenditure is coming from.
It is not possible to conduct campaigning or election activities without spending money in elections. But so far, no details have been found anywhere on where and how much the candidates are spending. The candidates are busy going door to door and meeting voters without even opening a bank account. ‘Not paying attention to opening an account for transparency in expenditure details is not following the code of conduct,’ he said. According to Mukesh Singh, Information Officer of the Election Office, 63 out of 110 candidates have taken a recommendation from the District Election Office to open an account.
In addition, it has been said that candidates should designate a responsible official to spend on their behalf when making election-related expenses. ‘Not submitting details has made it impossible to know all these things,’ said the Kolenika chief, ‘Candidates are not paying attention to financial transparency. They do not have time to meet voters and make winning strategies.’
The commission has made a code of conduct stating that when receiving financial assistance of more than 25 thousand, it should be done through a bank or financial institution, and if cash is received as voluntary assistance from an individual or organization, the amount should be transferred to the candidate’s account with a receipt or reimbursement.
