KATHMANDU: A study has found that 350 incidents violating the child rights provisions of the election code of conduct were recorded before and after Nepal’s House of Representatives Election 2026.
According to a report titled “Study Report on the Implementation of the Child Rights Election Code of Conduct”, 286 incidents involving children were recorded before the election and 19 after the polls.
The report was prepared by National Campaign for Children as Zones of Peace (CZOP) Nepal based on field observations by its member organizations, reports from provincial networks, media monitoring and tracking of digital platforms.
One of the incidents recorded during the campaign period involved the death of a four-year-old girl in Ishanath Municipality, Rautahat on February 5 after she was hit by a vehicle during an election campaign.
Similarly, in Mithila Municipality, Dhanusha, a suspicious object placed on a bridge exploded on March 3, injuring 15-year-old Asha Bhujel and eight-year-old Sushil Majhi.
The study also documented incidents where security personnel entered schools with weapons in Phidim, Panchthar and Annapurna Rural Municipality, Kaski before the election.
According to the report, children were widely used during election campaigns for carrying party flags and symbols, participating in rallies and mass meetings, chanting political slogans, distributing campaign materials and wearing party clothing. In some cases, children were also used in promotional videos and social media content to seek votes or express support for specific political parties.
The study further noted that students were sometimes made to join rallies while wearing school uniforms, while political leaders visited schools or organised campaign programmes near school premises. Such activities have posed challenges to maintaining schools as child-friendly and politically neutral spaces, said Tilottam Poudel, chair of CZOP Nepal.
The report also highlighted risks associated with parents producing videos of children asking for votes, social media influencers using children in political content and children repeating political messages or criticising rival parties online for financial gain.
The Election Commission Nepal took action in some cases. It fined Shram Sanskriti Party Rs 25,000 for violating provisions of the election code of conduct.
Similarly, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, a candidate from Jajarkot Constituency No. 1, was also fined Rs 25,000 for breaching the same provision.
Compared to the pre-election period, direct violations involving children were fewer on the day of voting. However, the study pointed out structural challenges related to the extensive use of school buildings as polling centres. Of the 10,967 polling locations across the country, around 9,450 were set up in schools.
The report recommended that political parties avoid using children in election campaigns, rallies, publicity materials and digital content, and adopt child-friendly electoral practices while respecting children’s rights. It also advised parties not to conduct election activities in schools or other child-centred spaces.
It further urged the Election Commission to strengthen monitoring of the code of conduct, include child rights awareness in voter education programmes and develop guidelines to prevent the political use of children on digital platforms.
The study was conducted in 50 districts with the involvement of 107 member organisations, provincial committees in all seven provinces, the Community Radio Broadcasters Association and various networks working in the child rights sector. Technical support for the study was provided by Save the Children.
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