Election Commission announces final results of federal and provincial polls

Election Commission today published the final results of the parliamentary elections – under First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation (PR) systems – held on November 20.

Organising a press meet here today, the Commission informed that it will submit the final results to the President Bidya Devi Bhandari tomorrow. 

According to the rule, the commission has to submit the election results report, under both FPTP and Proportional Representation, of the House of Representatives to the President and the Provincial Assembly members’ results to the respective provincial heads within seven days of the announcement. The process of government formation as per Article 76 of the Constitution of Nepal will begin after the report is submitted to the President.

Likewise, The commission will send the report of the results of the provincial election to the provincial heads of the provinces on Saturday. After the President and heads of the province get the results, the final list of elected members will be published in the Nepal Gazette. 

The commission also reported that a total of 825 people were elected – some 275 to the House of Representatives and 550 to the seven provincial assemblies. “Some 184 men (66.90 per cent) and 91 women (33.10 per cent) have been elected to the House of Representatives and 350 men (63.64 per cent) and 200 women (36.36 per cent) to the seven provincial assemblies,” Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said, adding that some 86 political parties had been registered for the election for the House of Representatives. “Of them, 61 participated in FPTP voting and 47 participated in PR voting.

Likewise, altogether 17,988,570 were eligible to vote in the election. “Of them, some 11,047,034 (61.41 per cent) exercised their voting rights.” the commission reported, adding that about 5.06 per cent of votes were declared invalid. “A total of 4,285 candidates, or 76.4 per cent of the total candidates, lost their election deposits after failing to get the minimum votes required.”

According to the commission, candidates securing less than 10 per cent of the total votes-cast lose their election deposit. The parties lose their election deposit, if they fail to win any seat under the PR system. “Of the 47 political parties submitting the closed list of candidates for the PR system in the House of Representatives, some 40 parties lost their deposits as they failed to get least 3 per cent of the total valid votes.”

“The deposits of some 1,961 including 1,772 male candidates for the House of Representatives and 2,086 male and 237 female candidates for the Provincial Assembly have been forfeited,” Thapaliya informed, adding that only seven parties could become the national parties.

CA Election cost

·        The total cost of the second CA election scheduled for November 19 is estimated to come around Rs 40 billion, of which half of the expenses will have no record/source to trace.

·        The government – in the budget for the current fiscal year 2013-14 – has allocated Rs 16 billion for the second CA polls.

·        The EC has allowed a candidate under the FPTP system to spend up to Rs 1 million, while a PR candidate can spend Rs 75,000.

·        A total of over Rs 6 billion will be spent by the 6,128 FPTP candidates only, if the parties and candidates abide by the election code of conduct which is less likely due to cut-throat competition among the three major parties.

·        Nepali Congress that did not get chance to go the power after the first CA election in 2008 has provided Rs 500,000 to each of the 240 First Past The Post candidates making it a total of Rs 120 million.

·        But UCPN-Maoist and CPN-UML that were both in the government twice have no derth of funds and of the 122 parties contesting the election, some of the parties have enough resources, though without source, that could pump some Rs 20 billion in the market due to rising election costs.

·        The excessive money supply in the market will push the inflation up to over two digit against the government and central bank's estimation of eight per cent.

·        The election expenses have shot up also due to adverse security situation, rising inflation, depreciation of Nepali rupee, pay hike for election officials, deployment of the Army, recruitment of the temporary police force and the cold weather conditions in the mountain districts during the pool month.

·        Though Rs 2.15 billion was spent for the security in 2008, the Finance Ministry has already allocated Rs 7 billion for the security, according to the ministry, and the Army has also demanded Rs 3 billion for its security arrangements.

·        In the last four years till 2013 May 28, after the first CA election in 2008, some Rs 91.26 billion was spent by the Constituent Assembly (CA) that failed to deliver the Constitution. Each CA member pocketed Rs 7.2 million in four years, which means the failed CA cost Rs 3,323 per Nepali.