You may ask why are you writing about the election when it is not the election season? I am writing this because the Election Commission is currently revising the Election Law. Although the matter is fresh, it has been almost two years since the process started.

That is, two years ago, the Commission drafted a 'Bill to Amend and Consolidate Election Laws' on the basis of directives from the Supreme Court and recent experience. There were many discussions and consultations on the draft. And, the meeting of the Election Commission held in June 2080 decided to proceed with the process of amending the law.

Accordingly, about 22 months ago, the Commission submitted the bill to the Ministry of Home Affairs to be submitted to the Parliament. But unfortunately, as time passed, the work did not progress. Only the minister changed at home, the way of work did not change. There was confusion. According to Commission sources, after a long time now, Home has given a positive signal. Let's hope (though not without hope), it won't be a mess anymore. And, the House will register the bill to amend the election law in this House.

question comes, what is included in the amendment of the election law? And what is missing? During the discussion, the Election Commission brought the issues like J in the debate, are they all included in the bill? For 084, what election law do we need? And, for that, what are the topics that we should discuss? 

Elections and Democracy

Before getting into the matter of amending the law, let's go into a few political questions. Like, do we need a single election or an effective election? This is not just an election-related question. This is a question related to our governing character, democratic politics and good governance.

because elections and governance are inseparable. Elections and democracy are inseparable. Democracy is weak if the election is not fast. Elections are ineffective if democracy is weakened. And, in both these cases, neither good governance works, nor political accountability is ensured. 

Of course, elections are a powerful exercise in establishing the sovereignty of the people over the state. If there were no elections, every leader would most likely become a dictator. But elections happen and leaders are controlled by voters. Elections are held so politicians are accountable to citizens. But, let's think if the election is not effective, what will happen? The moral and ideological aspects of politics are defeated. After that, the election becomes a farce.

If there is no holy, pure, democratic and effective election, democracy will become discredited, ineffective and impure. Therefore, the method, process and accuracy of the election is the basic condition of democracy. Elections should not be a license to run the frenzied horse of power over the tender dreams of citizens.

Criminals should not reach the top of power through elections. And, so that a dictator is not born through elections, that is why the fairness, sanctity and effectiveness of elections are necessary. And, that requires a strong (independent) Election Commission and effective election laws. 

Here, making elections effective and using them are two separate issues. Making elections effective means making them strong, sacred, accountable to voters and fair. Which makes democracy effective. That is, making elections effective means promoting the sovereignty of citizens. But using elections means leaving as many loopholes as possible and playing games with voters.

Some of our parties (those with totalitarian thinking) still believe that elections should be used. For them, power is more important than democracy. Basically they focus on intrigue, booth grabbing, money and muscle. Therefore, our experiences regarding elections are not pleasant.

because we have seen the foul play, conspiracies and thikdoms in recent elections from ticket distribution to winner announcement. But in this way neither democracy is dynamic, nor respect for public opinion. Needless to say, effective elections are a prerequisite for democracy. However, effective laws are needed for effective elections. That's why the "Bill to amend and unify the electoral laws" is a matter of most interest for every democrat. 

new offer 

Election Commission's Honorable Commissioner Dinesh Thapalia has said - 'This time there is an attempt to do something new.' Looking at the proposed draft of the bill, it seems that something new has definitely been proposed. Firstly, this bill seeks advance assurance of election day. As a

, the bill proposes a provision to hold the presidential or vice-presidential election three days before the end of the term of office. It is proposed that the election of the House of Representatives and the State Assembly will be held on the first Sunday four years and eleven months after the last election result of such assembly is announced.

The election of the members of the National Assembly is said to be held on the first Sunday of one month before the term ends. The election of the head, deputy head, chairman, vice chairman, ward chairman and ward members of the local level is said to be held on the first Sunday after four years and eleven months after the final results are announced. In view of this, the Election Commission has proposed to keep the elections in the regular schedule of the state. Which is a very good offer. 

Second, in this bill, it is proposed to regularize the process of collecting (updating) the voter list through the election office (or the relevant local government). Which will be done electronically. And, in this, any Nepali citizen can nominate himself in the voter list of the ward where he has permanent residence from any election office. In addition, it is proposed in the bill that the details of Nepali citizens abroad will also be collected for the purpose of preparing the voter list. 

Thirdly, in this election law, it has been proposed that a person who has been a candidate (at the federal parliament, state assembly and local level) and has been defeated cannot be a candidate at any level of election except for the by-election of the same constituency or level until the term of that position is completed.

Likewise, it has been proposed that a person who has been elected twice in the House of Representatives or the Provincial Assembly through the proportional election system cannot be a candidate for the third time under the same election system. On the one hand, these two arrangements will end the tendency of people who have lost the election to enter through the eye window and become MPs in the same term.

On the other hand, the process of becoming an MP from birth proportional will be stopped. Similarly, ending the practice of deciding the distribution of tickets for all levels by the federal level (leader) of the party, it has been proposed that any level of tickets be given by a party committee above the level. 

Similarly, the fourth thing in this bill is that a new provision is proposed that a person who is a member of a political party cannot be a candidate on the election symbol of another political party without giving up the membership of that party. This arrangement will put an end to the earlier practice of a member of one party taking election symbols from another party. This provision is expected to restore political morality and ethics. 

Fifthly, in the proposed bill, it is provided that if a person who has the obligation to submit the details of election expenses does not submit such details within the prescribed time, such person cannot be a candidate in any election held according to this Act for 6 years. Similarly, it has been proposed to prevent those who have been charged with corruption but have not received a final decision from running as candidates this time. 

Sixth, this bill proposes some special provisions to ensure women's representation. For example, the party will nominate candidates in as many constituencies as the first-choice system for members of the House of Representatives or the State Assembly to be elected. It is proposed that at least thirty-three percent of women candidates should be given.

Otherwise, all the nominations of the respective section of the political party who are contesting against this provision will be cancelled. In addition, when preparing the closed list of candidates under the proportional election system, each political party must nominate at least twenty-five percent of the total number of members to be elected, and at least fifty percent of them must be women.

Seventh, importantly, for the election of members of the local level, two separate ballots have been proposed for the position of chief and deputy chief or chairman and vice chairman and for ward chairman and ward member. 

Eighth, this bill seems to want to ensure the rights of overseas and non-resident voters. For this purpose, the Commission has made a provision to publish notices in the gazette and arrange voting using electronic devices (including online) in designated constituencies. In addition, the Commission has proposed that voters living abroad can vote for the proportional representation of the House of Representatives from the respective country or with the help of the designated Nepali diplomatic mission.

Ninth, this time a no vote is proposed. According to which, if a voter wants to vote that he does not support any candidate, the right to reject will be provided in the ballot paper. If the counting of such ballots shows that no candidate is supported by more than fifty percent of the votes, such election shall be annulled. Also, if the election is canceled and re-election is held, the rejected person will be ineligible to be a candidate again. 

There is another important proposal in this bill, the provision of not stopping traffic on election day. Earlier, traffic was stopped in the name of security and many passengers suffered. But in the new bill, a legal arrangement has been proposed to stop traffic on election day.

What is missing

But many things are missing in this bill. The bill does not seem to take into account the important suggestions from the public to make the electoral law more democratic. Why did this happen? The unofficial statement of the Election Commission is that - "While seeking political consensus in the draft of the law, some issues have been left out". Some of the important topics missed are as follows. 

Firstly, the matter of 'primary' election is missing in the bill. The proposal that the candidate in the election of the state post should win the primary election in order to receive the official nomination paper is considered an important basis of advanced democracy. This is an important method of ending tyranny. which makes the candidate accountable to the electorate. But this subject is not proposed in the bill. 

Second, the matter of 'state funding' is missing in this bill. In the preliminary discussions organized by the Election Commission, 'State Funding' is a topic that has been raised very strongly. External experiences have shown that opaque donations are necessary to reduce terror, commission, corruption and mismanagement. 'State funding' makes parties accountable to the state and transparent. It prevents illicit transactions and helps in effective financial monitoring. Of course, doing so would increase the cost of the state, but it would also make the parties more transparent and well-governed. Which is a big deal compared to the cost. But this subject has been omitted in the bill. 

Thirdly, the non-partisan local elections are missing in this bill. When the local government is based on the party, it is obvious that the society is highly partisan. When the local people's representatives are controlled by the parties, it has been experienced that the performance capacity and decision-making power have been weakened, favoritism has been seen in the services provided to the citizens and democracy has been shrinking. To solve this, there is now a demand for non-party elections at the local level. But this subject is not included in the bill. 

Fourth, there is another important issue missing from this bill, the commitment test. Political parties share many dreams in elections. They print the manifesto in color. But unfortunately, the party (candidate) who won the election by making a promise to the electorate is not washing the end of the victory procession 

They forget their promises. The question arises, is it justified? Breaking the political contract with voters is not a political fraud or a crime? Therefore, it is necessary for the Commission to manage the law and system to monitor the pledges. Otherwise, this trend of talking nonsense, cheap popularity slogans and playing on the emotions of the voters will further discredit democracy. Therefore, promises and commitments must be legally and morally tested. But this topic is missing in the new proposal. 

Fifth, the level of strictness that the state should take in following the code of conduct is nowhere to be seen in the bill. Adherence to the code of conduct is mandatory for clean elections. But we have seen, political dishonesty, gangsterism and dishonesty. We have seen, the banquets of government levels, the banquets of the village, village and the buthbza. There is still the practice of swearing to sweat voters by touching the voters. We have seen selfishness for selfishness in a dozen, dozen up to the process of demarcation from the end of the constituency. It contains a high political leader, ministers, admins, and security agencies. Therefore, it is necessary for strict legal provisions to control the collision and code of conduct of conduct on the election. But the bill is silent. & Nbsp;

, how to control the obligation to the parties within the parties? What is the division of the parties and transparency of expenditure? What is the property of the candidate and property? What is the source of income? This is a very important question. Our own experience says that the donation terror, commissions, states, state development, institutional corruption has now been invaluated. Which must be controlled. For this, the Auditor General of the Party of the party funds and the Rajistory chartered, the Hinamina of the party fund needs corruption and punish the city of the party cells. But there is no remarkable proposal on the proposed bill. & Nbsp;

seventh, the culture of UND coalition is the most pervert and contaminated culture of our politics. Of course, the parties will allocate. But that has certain boundaries. In the election, a party allocated the government, made the government with another, defeated the price and rendered the government again. This is our most contaminated experience of politics. So it is necessary to control it (regulation). Ie, & nbsp;

Pre-Election Alliance and Post-Election Alliance should be regulated by the law. Otherwise, the doctrine alliance has been facing unstable and uncontrollable to politics. And, the general publicity is being enricted. However, there is no special offered in the bill. & Nbsp; The

is the eighth issue, a scale of a party trade union. This is not just about good governance but also the election. Otherwise, government employees are required to avoid entering the electoral program on the basis of their past political involvement and the affordable trade union. But the bill is silent. & Nbsp;

we speak today & nbsp;

is now heard by all political parties to say Mission 084. After they 084, their party are sharing a weigators that all the people who are doing so. For citizenship, who does not win the winner that it is not important questions. The important question is what is 084 election? What would democracy be like? What is the character of the party, power and government? How can the coming election be fair, secular and effective than now? For that, public discussion, newsview and procedural amendment needs public discussions, news news and procedural amendments to make the proposed bill of electricity more democratic, fair and effective.