Maoist-Centre MP criticizes EC draft, claims threat to multi-party democracy

KATHMANDU: CPN (Maoist Centre) lawmaker Shreekrishna Prasad Adhikari has accused the Election Commission’s draft of the Political Parties’ Self-Assessment Procedure of undermining independent competition and restricting the country’s multi-party system.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, MP Adhikari claimed the draft aims to curtail the autonomy of smaller parties and reinstate the autocratic one-party tendencies of the past.

He described the move by an institution like the Election Commission—traditionally regarded as independent and impartial—as a direct attack on democratic values and systems.

Adhikari further noted that although the draft procedure is said to be based on Section 61 of the Political Parties Operation Act, 2063, the Act only empowers the Commission to issue procedural guidelines for implementation, not to create an administrative structure that contradicts the law.

He raised concerns over proposals in the draft that would impose administrative frameworks and set service standards in ways inconsistent with the existing Act.