Thapa-led RPP found in breach of EC poll norm
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, February 5:
The Home Minister Kamal Thapa-led faction of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has been found guilty of violating the Code of Conduct of the Election Commission (EC) ahead of the civic polls scheduled for February 8.
The EC Code of Conduct (Ka 6) for political parties and candidates prohibits contesting parties from writing colourful and enamel-painted slogans.
Some members of the Thapa-led RPP have been found violating this code.
The wall opposite Nepal Food Corporation, at Maitighar, has been painted with election slogans urging people to vote for the flower pot, the election symbol of the Thapa-led RPP.
According to the Code of Conduct Kha 7, if a party or a candidate is found guilty of painting walls with election slogans, thereby violating the Code of Conduct, the guilty party should bear all the expense of cleaning up the painted walls. The expense will be included in the candidate’s election expenditure.
“The EC’s Code of Conduct prohibits the painting of walls. We have a monitoring mechanism in place to see if anyone is violating the EC’s codes. Necessary action will be taken against the guilty if unlawful actions are reported,†Tej Muni Bajracharya, spokesperson for the EC said.
The Code of Conduct Gha 5 further empowers the EC to take action over any kind of violation of the code.
According to it, the concerned Election Officer or Voting Officer should immediately stop such activities.
Rajaram Shrestha, a mayoral candidate for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, said some wall paintings were done as the contestants were unaware of the laws. When asked if the party would clean the painted walls before the election, he said the party’s duty was to clean the walls after the completion of the polls.
Some independent candidates have also been found guilty of displaying banners made of plastic at New Road. The use of cloth and plastic banners as display materials is also prohibited by the EC code.
However, the EC code is not clear about some of the slogans that are painted in the name of different social bodies like the “Civil Society Lalitpur†at Kupandole and the “Women Children and Conflict Victims Association†at Ratnapark.
The KMC itself has put up some banners at Teku urging people to take part in the polls.
The EC today said the duration of campaigning for the civic polls ends tonight. From tomorrow, candidates may meet voters personally, but they cannot hold mass meetings in public places.
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