Nepal Proposes Deregistration of Parties Not Participating in Elections

Nepal’s proposed Chief Election Commissioner, Man Bahadur Karki, has proposed deregistering political parties that do not participate in elections.

This proposal is part of his work plan submitted to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Under ‘Management and Coordination of Political Parties’, Karki has written, ‘To make party management more disciplined, we will introduce legal provisions to deregister parties that are not active in democratic practices and do not participate in elections.’

Karki has also committed to reviewing the existing legal provisions for registering political parties and setting clear criteria and standards. His work plan, which includes this commitment, has been submitted to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee and distributed to its members.

The plan also includes a provision to provide grants to political parties from the government. ‘To free political parties from financial dependence and promote fair competition, we will provide grants from the public fund based on the votes and other acceptable indicators received by the parties in the last election,’ the plan states.

Karki has proposed making political parties committed to following the Election Commission’s code of conduct in their internal elections. He also plans to institutionalize the practice of direct supervision by the Commission during the parties’ general conventions.

Additionally, Karki’s plan includes provisions to ensure proportional representation in all levels of party committees, including the central committee, and to develop institutional mechanisms to effectively manage and regulate political parties at the federal, provincial, and local levels.

The plan also proposes to establish a system for political parties represented in the parliament to appoint contact persons for continuous communication with the Commission. Karki has also committed to implementing a ‘no vote’ system and making arrangements for voting from abroad.

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee has scheduled a presentation by Karki on Ashar 13. Presentations by two other proposed commissioners are scheduled for the previous day. Both meetings are scheduled for 11:15 am.

The Constitutional Council had recommended Karki as the Chief Election Commissioner on Ashar 19. Karki is the Registrar of the Supreme Court and has previously worked as a government lawyer.

On the same day, the Constitutional Council had also recommended former DIG Dr. Rajeev Subba and retired government lawyer Guru Wagley (Okhaldhunga) as election commissioners. Dr. Subba has previously worked as an IT specialist in the Nepal Police, while Wagley is a retired government lawyer who previously worked at the Election Commission.

According to the constitutional provision, the proposed commissioners will be appointed by the President after their names are approved by the Parliamentary Committee.