Can parties arbitrarily remove candidates from the closed list? The Election Commission has stated that the political party concerned cannot arbitrarily withdraw anyone's name from such a list.

Kathmandu – While some candidates whose names are on the closed list of proportional candidates are announcing that they have withdrawn their names, many are wondering – can parties remove their names from the closed list? The Election Commission has stated that the political parties concerned cannot arbitrarily withdraw anyone’s name from such a list.

Commission’s Assistant Spokesperson and Deputy Secretary Sita Pun Sris said that according to the election schedule, if a candidate wants to withdraw his/her name from the closed list, he/she can apply on 28 Poush and only the concerned candidate has the right to withdraw his/her name. She clarified that the application should be submitted to the Election Officer on the specified date for withdrawal of name.

She said that political parties cannot arbitrarily remove or change names from the closed list and informed that parties cannot change their names for any reason other than the errors pointed out by the Commission during the examination of the closed list.

Some candidates on the closed list submitted to the Election Commission for proportional representation have announced their withdrawal of names through social media. Mainly, seven people from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have announced their withdrawal of candidacy. According to the commission, a candidate who wants to remove his name from the closed list must appear before the election officer and submit an application. According to the proportional representation guidelines for members of the House of Representatives, a person who wants to withdraw his name must submit an application as per Schedule-18, the format of which is mentioned in the guidelines. The application submitted in this way cannot be withdrawn.

The political party will have to correct the errors pointed out by the commission in the submitted closed list and submit the closed list of the candidate within 21 to 27 Paush. Only then will the candidate be allowed to withdraw his name. After the candidate withdraws his name, the commission will inform the concerned political party about it on 29 Paush. The time has been fixed from 30 Paush to 2 Magh to send the name of another candidate to the vacant seat due to the withdrawal of the candidate.

The commission will publish the list of names on 4 Magh. Time has been given from 5 to 10 Magh to file claims and objections against the qualifications of the candidates included in the closed list. The time has been fixed from 11 to 17 Magh to investigate the claims and objections and take a decision. If someone's name has to be removed due to claims and objections, the commission will publish a notice on 19th Magh and the final list of candidates will be made public on 20th Magh.