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Election Commission

Establishment and Functions of the Election Commission in Nepal

The year 1950, marks the beginning of modern Nepali History. The 104 year old Rana regime came to an end that year after a popular people's movement, under the initiation of King Tribhuvan. The next year, the Nepal Interim Governance Bill was introduced, which was Nepal's second constitution. With the introduction of the new constitution, the 1950 Interim government was assigned the responsibility of conducting the parliamentary election. Consequently, the Election Commission of Nepal came into being that year, with the objective of holding the first ever election in Nepal.

Here are some of the characteristics of the Election Commission of Nepal as determined by the Interim Constitution 1950:

The Election Commission was headed by the Chief Election Commissioner and other office bearers.
The decision of the King and the cabinet would impact the tenure of the office bearers of the Election Commission and their appointment directly.
The voters list was to be free of any caste, religious or gender discrimination.
One had to be at least 21 years of age to be eligible to cast the ballot.

The commission was vested with certain rights to fulfill its responsibilities:

Preparing the voters' list
Control and supervision of election related activities
Conduction of Elections
Settle Election related disputes
Run Election Court

In the year 1959, the Election Commission of Nepal conducted the first General Elections of Nepal.

Election Commission During The Panchayat Period

The Constitution of Nepal 1962 also provided for the Election Commission. The Head of the Commission and the other commissioners would be nominated by the King. The Commission was vested with the right to only conduct elections within the Panchayat system. The Election Commission functioned as a government affiliated body that took care of elections to local bodies and Rastriya Panchayat. Since parties had been banned at that time, the groups that were allowed to contest the election were associations within the Panchayat system:

Nepal Kisan Sangathan (Farmers Association)
Nepal Yuwak Sangathan (Youth Association)
Nepal Mahila Sangathan (Women's Association)
Nepal Praud Sangathan (Senior Citizen's Association)
Nepal Majdoor Sangathan (Worker's Association)

Every member of the Rastirya Panchayat (the legislature) had to be a member of at least one of these associations.

Functions and powers of the Election Commission as mentioned in the Constitution of Nepal-1962

Elections to various levels of Panchayats, associations and professional organizations were supervised, conducted and directed by the Election Commission.
The appointment or nomination of members to the Election Court would be made upon recommendation of the Election Commission.
In case of a debate, the final decision on the eligibility of election candidates for the Rastriya Panchayat would be taken by Election Commission, under the guidance of the King.
The Election Commission was directly under the King and the King would consult the Raj Sabha (a body of royal appointees) on decisions related to Election Commission, if he so desired.
The age of voting remained 21 years during the Panchayat period.

According to the Constitution of Nepal 1962, elections were to be held for Rastirya Panchayat, which was the legislative body of the country. Following elections to the Rastirya Panchayat, election were to take place at the local level for Districts, municipalities and villages. In 1980, the Election Commission was tasked with the conduct of a referendum to choose between the improved panchayat system and a multi-party democracy, in order to quell the growing political unrest and massive demonstrations.

Election Commission During The Democratic Period

Article 103 of the 1990 Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, drafted after the restoration of democracy in Nepal, provided for direct elections, by way of universal adult franchise based on "one person one vote" and secret ballot. The Constitution settled for a FPTP (First past the post) electoral system electing a 205 member Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives) from 205 single member constituencies in Nepal.

Characteristics of the Election Commission as determined by the 1990 Constitution of Nepal:

The Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners were appointed by the King upon the recommendation of Constitutional Council. The Council comprised of the Prime Minister, Speaker, Chief Justice, main opposition leader in House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Assembly.
The tenure of the Commissioners would be of 6 years. The Constitution provides for the appointment of replacement Commissioners in case of the death of the Commissioner or his/her removal from position due to any other reason.
The Election Commission would be authorised by provisions within the 1990 Constitution and other laws to conduct, supervise, direct and control the elections to the parliament and levels of local government.
The Election Commission would prepare the electoral rolls of voters.
The final decision on the candidature for contesting election would be made by the Election Commission.
The Election Constituency Delimitation Commission would draw the boundaries of constituencies in districts having more than one constituency, and in so delimiting the Commission would give consideration to boundaries, geographical conditions, population density, transportation, communal homogeneity or heterogeneity.
Complaints concerning elections would be entertained by a court established for this purpose by law.
Citizens attaining 18 years of age and above were entitled to vote in elections.

The Election Commission at Present

The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007, introduced a major change in the appointment of the Election Commissioner, passing the right from the King to the Prime Minister.

The Election Commission is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner. The Chief Commissioner is assisted by up to four other Commissioners. The Prime Minister is responsible for appointing the Election Commissioners, upon the recommendation of the constitutional bodies.
The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 has declared the Election Commission of Nepal to be an independent body.
The Election Commission shall conduct, supervise, direct and control the election of the Constituent Assembly and local authorities, and conduct referenda if required.
The final decision regarding the eligibility of an election candidate will be taken by the Commission.
According to Clause 1 of Sub-article 7, the tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners will be of 6 years from the date of appointment. The Election Commissioners/Officers will be automatically removed from office when they reach 65 years of age. They may also be removed from office if a proposal of impeachment against them is endorsed in the parliament.
The position of Election Commissioners/Officers will be considered vacant in case of resignation of the office bearer, if the term is over or in case of death. Minimum qualification expected for an Election Commissioner/Officer is a recognized master's degree, no political affiliation and having attained at least 45 years of age.
The functions of the Election Commission are implemented by the Election Commission Secretariat. The commission is allowed to establish offices according to its necessity to carry out its functions at the local level.