KATHMANDU: The Election Commission (EC) has sought a second clarification from former Kathmandu mayor and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Balendra Shah regarding alleged violations of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082.
This follows a broader action in which the EC on Sunday and Monday asked nine more individuals for clarifications, taking the total number of notices issued to 30.
According to EC Assistant Spokesperson Kul Bahadur GC, Shah’s case relates to reports that during the campaign in Jhapa-5, his wife Sabina Kafle deployed plainclothes police personnel to assist in electioneering.
Audio-visual material reportedly shows police accompanying Sabina while soliciting votes for Shah. Based on this, the Commission has asked him to clarify the matter and explain whether his campaign complied with the Election Code provisions.
Shah has been given three days to submit his response under Clause (c) of Section 21 and Clauses (c) and (j) of Sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Election Code.
Earlier, on January 27, the EC had issued clarifications to Shah along with three other individuals for viral content on social media. The others included senior RSP leader Balen, Mahesh Basnet of the CPN-UML, and Hark Sampang, chairman of the Shram Sanskriti Party, as well as candidate Nicholous Bhusal, all for alleged violations of the Code.
The EC continues to monitor the campaign and take action against potential breaches of the election rules.
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