Timely electoral law

It would be prudent for the ministries to quickly forward election bills to the legislature.

The Election Commission has drafted the Bill to Amend and Consolidate the Election Law and forwarded it to the home ministry. The poll body has proposed some vital changes in election laws that include giving voters the right not only to elect someone but also reject certain candidates. It has proposed stricter provision to ensure 33 percent women’s representation and make sure one of either chief or deputy chief of a local unit is elected. The body has proposed provisions to enlist Nepali citizens staying abroad in the voters’ list and ensure their voting rights. Likewise, it has included some conditions to add transparency to election expenditures. But the draft, which was forwarded to the home ministry by the poll body over two months ago, has been stuck at the ministry.