KATHMANDU: Out of 3,406 direct candidates who have filed nominations for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, only 1,213 candidates have opened bank accounts so far, according to the Election Commission.
Among the 68 political parties participating in the election, only nine have opened bank accounts to date. The parties include Nepali Congress, Rastriya Janamorcha, Nepal Communist Party (Unified), Nepali Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Party for Nepal, Janata Samajbadi Party, Unified Citizens Party, Miteri Party and Nepal Janata Sanrakshan Party.
Assistant Spokesperson of the Election Commission, Kul Bahadur GC, said the provision of opening bank accounts has been introduced to ensure transparency in financial assistance received by political parties and candidates, adherence to the expenditure ceiling set by election laws, and effective monitoring.
As per the House of Representatives Election Campaign Bank Account (Operation and Management) Procedure, 2026, all political parties registered with the Commission for proportional and first-past-the-post systems, their candidates, and independent candidates are required to conduct all income and expenditure related to election campaigning through the designated bank account.
The Commission stated that parties and candidates have opened accounts in line with this provision.
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