The silence period has begun for the House of Representatives elections to be held on 21 Falgun. No one can campaign for or against anyone during the silence period.

The silence period, which began at 12 midnight on Monday, will be in effect until the voting is completed.

The Election Commission is implementing the silence period in accordance with the election code of conduct. Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said that the Election Commission is monitoring the violation of the election code of conduct 24 hours a day.

Why is the silence period being implemented?

It is an international practice to start a 48-hour silence period during the voting period so that there are no disputes or clashes between competitors and that voters are not intimidated by any unpleasant incident.

It is a practice to arrange a silence period to conduct elections in a peaceful environment and to create a fair competitive environment among candidates. Since all campaigning activities are quiet during the silence period, the voting environment is created and the Election Commission expects that voters will vote enthusiastically.

If the silence period is not maintained and campaigning is allowed even before the day of voting, then the candidates and political parties will risk influencing voters and the election environment will be affected, so this practice is being practiced, according to the Election Commission.

After the silence period begins, the office of the Returning Officer will ask the concerned party or candidate to remove the campaign materials placed within 300 meters of the polling station. ‘The campaign materials of the party or candidate should be removed, and no vote solicitation or election campaign should be conducted by any method, process or means,’ the Commission has said.

What can be done, what cannot be done?

Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari informed that during the silence period, any kind of discussion, interaction, meeting, conference, workshop, seminar, etc., including election campaigning, will not be allowed. According to him, campaigning for or against anyone or seeking votes is not allowed through social media.

During the silence period, political party officials, candidates, party fraternal organizations and other individuals, organizations or bodies that must follow the code of conduct will not be allowed to carry out election campaigning or other activities.

Similarly, the Election Commission has stated that no one should solicit votes or campaign for election by any method, process or means, and no message, information or campaigning material in favor of or against a political party or candidate should be posted or shared or caused to be posted on social media, online, in print or any other means.

Section 17 of the code of conduct has been made targeting the silence period. The Commission has stated that political party officials or candidates and party fraternal organizations or related persons should observe good conduct from forty-eight hours before the polling day until the polling station closes on the polling day. 

No one should hold any kind of discussion, interaction, meeting, conference, workshop, etc. including election campaigning, and it has been said that the campaigning materials of political parties or candidates placed within three hundred meters of the polling place should be removed forty-eight hours before the polling day. Similarly, it has been stated that no one should solicit votes or campaign for elections through any method, process or means, and no one should post or share or cause to be posted or respond to any message, information or campaign material in favor or against a political party or candidate on social media, online, in print or any other means.

What will be the action?

Section 48 of the Code of Conduct provides for action. Sub-section 1 of which states that ‘If anyone violates this Code of Conduct, the Commission may impose a fine of up to one hundred thousand rupees or cancel the candidacy in accordance with Section 23 of the Election Commission Act, 2073 BS’.

Sub-section 3 states that ‘A political party or candidate shall not receive any financial assistance or spend any money on any activity or activity in the election campaign in accordance with the election code of conduct, and the Commission may impose a fine equal to the income or expenditure incurred in such an activity on a political party or candidate in accordance with subsections (1) and (2) of Section 30 of the Election (Offences and Punishments) Act, 2073 BS.