KATHMANDU, Jan 28: The Election Commission (EC) has sought clarifications from 15 individuals and institutions over alleged violations of the code of conduct for the March 5 House of Representatives (HoR) election during the past 10 days.
As of Tuesday morning, the EC confirmed that it had issued clarification notices in 15 cases since the code came into force on January 17.
Among those asked to respond are Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) senior leader Balendra Sah (Balen), a candidate from Jhapa Constituency No. 5, and CPN-UML Secretary Mahesh Basnet of Bhaktapur Constituency No. 2.
According to Mohan Joshi of the EC’s Code of Conduct Monitoring Division, the commission sought eight clarifications by Monday and added seven more cases on Tuesday.
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Other candidates asked to clarify their actions include Harkaraj Rai (Harka Sampang), Shram Sankriti Party candidate from Sunsari–1; Kamal Bhusal (Nicholas), Jansewa Party candidate from Rupandehi–2; and Januka Pathak (Shova), Jansewa Party candidate from Bhaktapur–2.
The EC has also sought clarification from RSP leader Khagendra Sunar after his social media comment on allowing the consumption of cow meat went viral.
Shah was asked to explain his use of offensive language on social media against CPN-UML Chairman and Jhapa–5 candidate KP Sharma Oli. Basnet was questioned over remarks related to the interpretation of the Maithili word “chhora” used by Shah.
Harka Sampang faced complaints for allegedly involving children in campaign activities and making them wear election-related T-shirts. Nicholas Bhusal was questioned for using a blood-stained shoe from the Gen-Z movement as a campaign symbol. Shova Pathak drew scrutiny for using abusive language against Basnet and the CPN-UML, including terms such as “murderer” and “rapist.”
Nepal Communist Party candidate Shakti Basnet of Jajarkot was asked for clarification after a video showed him distributing money to musicians during his nomination process.
Similarly, Koshi Province Chief Minister Hikmat Karki received a clarification notice over allegations of using a government vehicle during the nomination of CPN-UML candidate Oli in Jhapa–5. Surendra Bhandari, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) candidate from Kathmandu–4, was questioned for making offensive remarks targeting gender and minority communities.
RSP candidate Jagdish Kharel from Dolakha has already submitted his response to the commission.
The EC has also sought clarifications from several institutions for alleged violations of the code of conduct. So far, no disciplinary action has been taken.
Joshi said the commission provides two to three days for responses before making decisions.
“Only after reviewing the explanations will the EC decide on further action,” he said. “The process will continue as complaints are received.”
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