Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari has stated that the Election Commission is committed to making the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, 2026, credible and worthy of public trust.
He informed that, for this purpose, the Election Commission has already issued the code of conduct, along with making the necessary preparations. Emphasizing that the electoral process must be conducted in a peaceful, free, fair, and fear-free environment, he requested election observers to carry out their monitoring duties impartially.
He further stated that the Election Commission is prepared to undertake necessary activities, such as voter awareness programs, and is ready to coordinate and cooperate for this purpose.
A team led by Bijay Raj Gautam, Chairperson of the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), and Indra Prasad Aryal, Chairperson of the Nepal Human Rights Organization, on January 5, drew the attention of Acting Chief Election Commissioner Surendra Prasad Bhandari of the Election Commission, requesting that the election of members of the House of Representatives scheduled for March 5 be conducted in a clean, fair, and fear-free manner.
While handing over the memorandum, INSEC Chairperson Bijay Raj Gautam recalled that since the restoration of democracy, INSEC, along with human rights defenders and civil society, has been monitoring elections. He stated that with the objective of making elections historic and meaningful through public awareness at the citizen level, public auditing, and effective observation, a civic campaign for clean elections had been conducted in the past in collaboration with civil society. To successfully implement this campaign, civil organizations and leaders have been working voluntarily around the clock.
Based on past experience, he stated that the Citizens’ Campaign for Clean Elections has been reconstituted to ensure that the House of Representatives election on March 5 is held in a clean, fair, and fear-free environment. He further added that, as members of the campaign, INSEC and the Nepal Human Rights Organization will carry out voter education and election observation activities.
Similarly, Chairperson of the Nepal Human Rights Organization, Indra Aryal, stated that the general election, held as an exercise of sovereignty guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal, is the backbone of the democratic system of governance. He emphasized that the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure that the general election scheduled for March 5 is free, fair, transparent, inclusive, and credible is extremely important.
Based on the monitoring, studies, and experiences of civil society from past elections, he drew the Election Commission’s attention to the possibility that certain challenges may also arise in this election. He further stressed that the Election Commission should pay special attention to eliminating obstacles such as political interference in the electoral process, misuse of state resources, pressure on voters, financial inducements, the spread of misinformation and disinformation through social media, and barriers to the effective participation of women, Dalits, persons with disabilities, minority communities, and geographically marginalized voters.
Election Commission member Dr. Janaki Kumari Tuladhar informed that necessary preparations have been made to ensure effective participation and ease for women, Dalits, persons with disabilities, minority communities, and geographically marginalized voters during the election.
Likewise, Election Commission member Sagun Shamsher Jabara stated that it is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to conduct the election in a clean, fear-free, and fair manner. He requested the organizations involved in election observation to carry out their monitoring impartially and to provide suggestions to the Commission from time to time.
The delegation that submitted the memorandum also included INSEC Information Officer Krishna Gautam, INSEC Bagmati Province Coordinator Shiva Prasad Khakurel, Treasurer of the Nepal Human Rights Organization Tika Dangi, and Executive Committee Member Madhusudhan Upadhyay.
