Budget of Rs.10 billion to be required for general election

KATHMANDU: Representatives of the Election Commission and state assembly members are involved in the internal election process. The commission is working on a proposal to hold both elections in the same phase on the same day.

The election of representatives and members of the state assembly is required by the constitution to take place before Mangsir 22 (Dec 8). According to Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, the commission intends to hold elections to the House of Representatives and the state assembly on the same day after analyzing the incidents that occurred in various parts of the country during the local level elections.

The commission believes it can be completed in a single phase on Wednesday, Kartik 30 (Nov 16). “The commission is ready to hold the elections in one phase. We are not going in two phases. After analyzing the incidents in some places in the local level elections, the commission has come to the conclusion that the elections to the House of Representatives and state assemblies should be held in one phase,” Thapaliya said, ‘we had discussed the date of Kartik 27 (Nov 13) and Mangsir 4 (Nov 20) when the election was held in two phases internally, but in case of holding it in one phase, we are preparing to propose the date so that it can be held in Kartik 30 (Nov 16)’.

Elections to the House of Representatives and the State Council were held on 2074 Mangsir 10 (Nov 26) and 21 (Dec 7). As the term of office of the members of the House of Representatives and the State Assembly is five years from the date of the election on the basis of the Election Act, the Commission has fixed Mangsir 22 (Dec 8) as the expiration date. Due to this, Chief Election Commissioner Thapaliya has said that he will recommend to the government to hold the election by Mangsir 15 (Dec 1).

10 billion budget required

The commission estimates that holding state and House of Representatives elections at the same time will necessitate a budget of Rs. 10 billion. The commission has begun its research, estimating that the expenditure will be Rs 3 billion higher than in the previous election.

The commission had spent billions on the election, which was held in two phases in Mangsir, 2074 BS (November/December 2017). An informal meeting of commission officials a few days ago resulted in the preparation of a proposal, which included the estimated expenditure and date for the state and House of Representatives elections. While finalizing the election proposal, the commission has stated that it is preparing to request additional assistance from the government, including a budget.