68 Parties Contesting Polls, Only Nine Open Bank Accounts

Despite the Election Commission’s directive to open dedicated bank accounts to ensure transparency in election spending, only nine political parties have informed the Commission that they have opened such accounts, even though 68 parties are participating in the upcoming House of Representatives election.

According to the House of Representatives Member Election Campaign Bank Account (Operation and Management) Procedure, 2082, all political parties registered with the Commission and contesting under both the proportional representation and first-past-the-post electoral systems, along with their candidates and independent candidates, are required to conduct all election-related financial transactions through designated bank accounts.

The Commission stated that 68 parties are taking part in the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5. However, as of Tuesday, only nine parties had submitted details confirming the opening of bank accounts specifically for the election.

Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said that several major parties, including CPN-UML and Rastriya Swatantra Party, have not informed the Commission about opening the mandatory bank accounts.

The nine parties that have opened accounts are Nepali Congress, Rastriya Janamorcha, Nepal Communist Party (United), Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Party for Nepal, Janata Samajbadi Party, Samyukta Nagarik Party, Miteri Party, and Nepal Janata Sanrakshan Party.

Other parties have yet to provide details of opening accounts for election purposes.

“We introduced the provision of mandatory bank accounts to ensure transparency in political donations and compliance with expenditure limits set by election law, along with effective monitoring. However, compliance has been lacking,” Bhattarai said. “We will soon decide on action against parties that fail to open bank accounts.”

He added that the Commission had directed not only political parties but also individual candidates to open such accounts. However, many candidates have yet to comply.

Under the Procedure, both party-affiliated and independent candidates must receive financial contributions and conduct all income and expenditure transactions related to election campaigning through the designated accounts.

Despite this requirement, compliance among candidates remains weak. Of the 3,046 candidates registered under the first-past-the-post system, only 1,213 have opened bank accounts so far, according to the Commission.

The data indicate that a significant number of candidates have yet to follow the rule.

Economist Keshav Acharya said that candidates’ election spending in Nepal is often at least five times higher than the government’s official election expenditure and that much of this spending takes place through informal channels.

“It is unfortunate that despite the Commission’s directive to ensure transparency by requiring transactions through bank accounts, the rule has not been effectively implemented,” Acharya said. “If the government spends around Rs 33–34 billion during elections, candidates and parties collectively spend at least five times that amount.”

He noted that while the Commission has required donations exceeding Rs 25,000 to be made through bank cheques, many parties and candidates have not opened election accounts as instructed, raising further concerns over transparency.

A 2017 study conducted by the Election Observation Committee Nepal found that candidates spent several times more than the ceiling set by the Commission. Although the spending limit for a first-past-the-post candidate in the House of Representatives election was fixed at Rs 2.5 million per candidate, the study showed that winning candidates spent an average of Rs 21.3 million, runners-up spent Rs 14.9 million, and other candidates spent an average of Rs 8.5 million.

Acharya said election expenses were far lower during the 1991 general election, when some candidates managed their campaigns within a few hundred thousand rupees. However, he noted that each successive election since 1991 has become increasingly expensive.

He also alleged that cartel-like practices have emerged in recent elections. “In some cases, candidates are even offered money not to contest,” he claimed, arguing that election financing has increasingly become a money-driven competition.

Acharya stressed that political parties must demonstrate greater transparency and that the Commission should take firm action against parties and candidates who fail to open mandatory bank accounts.