Government Releases Rs 19.62 Billion for Election; Around 90% Spending Estimated

KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Finance has released Rs 19.62 billion for the management and security of the House of Representatives election held on Thursday (21 Falgun), with officials estimating that around 90 percent of the allocated budget will be spent.

According to the ministry, a similar spending pattern was observed in the past two elections, where nearly 90 percent of the allocated funds were utilized.

However, Ministry of Finance spokesperson Tank Prasad Pandey said the exact expenditure cannot be determined yet. “In the previous two elections — the local level election and the House of Representatives election — 90.80 percent and 91.37 percent respectively of the approved budget was spent,” Pandey said. “This year, we have tried to make the spending more economical. Although it may not be lower than last year, the preliminary estimate is that spending will remain around the same level.”

The ministry said the resource allocation was approved after extensive consultations with key spending agencies, including the Election Commission, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Defence, and it expects the election expenses to remain within the allocated budget.

Earlier, the Home and Defence ministries had proposed around Rs 20.5 billion for election security. The proposal included estimated expenses for the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force (APF), National Investigation Department, and temporary election security personnel.

Initially, the Ministry of Finance released Rs 19.10 billion, allocating Rs 6.72 billion to the Election Commission, Rs 10.39 billion to the Ministry of Home Affairs (for Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and district administration offices), and Rs 1.99 billion to the Nepal Army through the Ministry of Defence.

After the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police reported a budget shortfall, the ministry provided an additional Rs 520 million, including Rs 490 million for the Armed Police Force and Rs 30 million for Nepal Police, according to ministry sources.

Pandey said the funds were arranged under the current expenditure heading and miscellaneous spending category of the national budget.

The government also received assistance from several international partners for the election.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported voter education programs in coordination with the Election Commission with the government’s approval. The support was provided directly through program activities rather than as cash assistance to the government.

Meanwhile, Japan provided Rs 390 million and China contributed Rs 560 million through the government’s budgetary system. India provided in-kind assistance, including 650 vehicles and other security equipment. Among the vehicles, 150 were trucks, while the rest included Scorpio and Bolero utility vehicles.

For election security, the Central Security Committee recruited 147,000 temporary election police personnel (previously known as Myadi Police). A budget of Rs 9.15 billion was allocated for their 40-day deployment, covering salaries equivalent to regular police constables, uniforms, food rations, transportation and allowances.

In the 2022 House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections, the government had released Rs 18.05 billion, of which Rs 16.49 billion (91.37 percent) was spent.

Out of that amount, Rs 8.35 billion was allocated to the Election Commission, Rs 8.72 billion to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Rs 977.3 million to the Ministry of Defence. Actual spending included Rs 8.81 billion by the Election Commission (81.59 percent), Rs 8.70 billion by the Home Ministry (99.77 percent) and the full Rs 977.3 million by the Defence Ministry.

Similarly, during the 2022 local level elections, the government released Rs 13.31 billion, with 90.80 percent of the funds spent.

The Election Commission spent Rs 4.96 billion (80.70 percent), the Ministry of Home Affairs Rs 6.49 billion (99.43 percent) and the Ministry of Defence Rs 628.9 million (99.70 percent), according to finance ministry data.