Candidates have been asked to provide explanations on issues such as making hateful statements, using campaign materials contrary to the code of conduct, and taking more people than specified in the candidacy nomination.
What you should know
The most candidates who have been asked for clarifications for violating the election code of conduct are from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Election Commission, which implemented the code of conduct from midnight on 4th Magh, has asked for clarifications from candidates, political parties, Chief Ministers, provincial ministers, associations, organizations, schools and universities.
The Commission's Assistant Spokesperson Sita Pun informed that action has been taken on 29 complaints related to the code of conduct as of Monday. She said that the concerned individuals and organizations have been asked for clarification and the Commission is studying the responses received from them.
Candidates have been asked to explain issues such as making hateful statements, using campaign materials contrary to the code of conduct, and taking more people than specified in the candidacy nomination.
The Commission has asked Koshi Province Chief Minister Hikmat Karki for an explanation for participating in the election campaign. The Commission has sought an answer from him that he had reached the Returning Officer's Office with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli on the day of the nomination of the candidacy.
Koshi Province's Minister for Industry, Agriculture and Cooperatives Israel Mansuri has also been asked for an explanation for being involved in the election campaign. Mansuri has been asked to explain that he had accompanied Congress candidate Gyanendra Bahadur Karki to the Returning Officer's Office when he went to register his nomination from Sunsari-4. An explanation has been sought from the Shram Sanskriti Party for using children in campaigning and from the NCP for violating the code of conduct in campaigning.
The Commission has asked for an explanation from Balendra Shah, the candidate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Jhapa-5, Mahesh Basnet, the UML candidate from Bhaktapur-2, and Shobha Pathak, the candidate of the Nepal Janasewa Party from Bhaktapur-2, for hateful expressions.
Shah has been asked for an explanation for writing hateful comments on his Facebook status against former Prime Minister and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. Oli had written a 'status' saying that he was ready for a 'public debate'. Under it, Shah had written a response that 'standing on the same stage with the murderer of 76 children and his supporters means that I am also in it'.
In the context of complaints that female police were deployed in Balendra Shah's campaign in Jhapa-5, the Commission has written a letter to the district-based Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee on Monday to investigate. A monitoring committee has been formed in the district under the leadership of the Assistant Chief District Officer.
The Commission has also sought answers from UML candidates Mahesh Basnet and Shobha Pathak in Bhaktapur-2 regarding the 'hate speech'. Basnet has been asked to explain the term 'chhaura' used in Madhesh and called it 'chhaura'. Similarly, Pathak has been asked to explain the fact that he broadcasted false, misleading or hateful and personally defamatory material against another candidate.
The Commission has said that Surendra Bhandari, the RPP candidate in Kathmandu-4, has been asked for an explanation on the charge of making hateful statements targeting the gender and sexual minority community and spreading confusion in the society. Khagendra Sunar, the RPP candidate from Banke-3, has been asked for an explanation on the charge of spreading communal hatred against the national animal, the cow. The Commission has sought answers from Mangal Singh Praja, a candidate on the proportional list from the NCP, on the charge of making statements such as saying that there will be another war if Renu Dahal loses and setting Chitwan on fire.
The Commission has sought an explanation from the Election Commission for taking more than 25 people to the office of the Returning Officer during the nomination process of Jagadish Kharel from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) candidate from Dolakha. The Commission has also sought an explanation from the Khotang candidate from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Rudra Giri on the same charge.
The Commission has sought an explanation from the Saptari-2 candidate of the Janmat Party, Chandrakant Raut, for campaigning by placing election flags and symbols at a crossroads in violation of the code of conduct, and from the Sindhupalchowk-1 candidate from the NCP, Madhav Sapkota, for placing banners in front of the Returning Officer's office in violation of the code of conduct.
The NCP's Jajarkot candidate Shakti Bahadur Basnet was seen playing a musical instrument during the campaign and distributing Rs 500 notes, while the Commission has sought an explanation from the Parsa-2 candidate from the JSP Nepal, Ashok Temani, for distributing goods to influence voters.
The Commission has expressed its interest in the fact that Nisha Adhikari, the candidate of the Dynamic Democratic Party from Kathmandu-5, sent a QR code to Australia to seek assistance. The Commission has sought a response after a complaint was filed with the Commission that Dr. Nicholas Bhusal, the candidate of the Nepal Janasewa Party from Rupandehi-2, misused the viral and iconic shoes stained with blood during the protest, claiming that they belonged to a certain person.
After the election code of conduct was issued, the Commission has stopped the general meetings, conventions and elections that various organizations were trying to hold. The organizational elections of the Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs Association, Nepal Medical Association and Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry have been stopped.
The Commission has also stopped the convention of the Nepal Health Volunteers Association. The Commission has also sought clarification on issues such as appointments, dismissals, transfers. The Commission has retrieved the necessary files regarding the Guthi Sansthan's attempt to dismiss a religious leader.
The Commission has sought clarification on the conduct of an examination for the selection of employees from the contract service at Purbanchal University, the transfer of a teacher by the National Basic School Parsa, and the involvement of a teacher at Deuti Basic School in Dailekh in election campaigning.
Assistant Spokesperson Pun informed that 12 people have responded to the clarifications asked for. Some have denied the allegations in the complaint. She mentioned that some have made mistakes by mistake. She said that the responses will be presented in the Commission meeting.
The Commission has designated the Election Officer's Office and the Code of Conduct Monitoring Officer at the district level and has started receiving and investigating complaints. Pun said that the pressure of complaints in the Commission has decreased after complaints and investigations started in each district.
