Election observers point to voter education, online campaign gaps in preliminary report

March 13, Kathmandu: Election observers on Friday pointed to several areas requiring further attention in Nepal’s recent House of Representatives election, including voter education, online campaign regulation and transparency in campaign spending.

A preliminary report released at a press conference by the National Election Observation Committee (NEOC) and Election Observation Committee Nepal (EOC Nepal) said the polls were conducted in a challenging political context and within a limited timeframe, while noting that the overall process largely proceeded peacefully across the country.

However, the report pointed out that voter education programmes remain largely focused on teaching citizens how to mark ballots rather than explaining the broader importance of voting and democratic participation. Despite the mobilisation of thousands of volunteers nationwide, the number of invalid votes did not see a significant decline.

Observers also highlighted emerging challenges related to digital campaigning. “The increasing use of social media in election campaigns has created new challenges for regulating misinformation, disinformation and other violations of the election code of conduct,” said NEOC chairperson Dr Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, presenting the report.

The report further pointed to concerns regarding campaign finance transparency. Although the Election Commission set a spending ceiling of Rs3.3 million for direct candidates, observers noted that many candidates reported relatively low expenses, with costs related to digital promotion and social media management often not reflected in official declarations.