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| Political history · Constitution
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| President Ram Baran Yadav |
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| Vice President Parmanand Jha |
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| Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai |
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| Council of Ministers (List)
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| Elections | |||||
| Election Commission Constituent Assembly: 2008 Presidential: 2008 |
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The Election Commission of Nepal is the body responsible for monitoring elections, as well as registering parties and candidates and reporting election outcomes, in Nepal. It was born out of the 1950 revolution in Nepal, and was established in law in 1951, although it has been changed somewhat by law over time. It has six members who serve for six-year terms, as established by the Interim Constitution of Nepal. During the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, it was criticized for not fully upholding its duties, but was acknowledged to have managed the elections well nonetheless.
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The commission's responsibilities are many. Among other things, it is in charge of conducting elections.[1] This includes monitoring elections:[2] the commission also has the power to postpone them.[3] The commission receives funding from the Danish International Development Agency for assistance in monitoring elections.[2] In the race for the Nepalese Constituent Assembly, the commission oversaw approximately 10,000 polling places, 10,000 candidates, and 234,000 election workers.[4] It requires candidates to take its own specified oath of office.[5] It also oversees the political parties registered in elections: all parties must register with the commission, or they cannot run.[6] Parties are also required to submit their list of candidates for review, and the commission releases the final list of people running for office.[7] In 2008, in the race for the Constituent Assembly, 55 parties registered candidates for seats in the assembly, and 7 parties registered a candidate for all 335 available seats.[6] The commission also reports on election outcomes.[8]
The year 1950 was important in the history of Nepal: in that year, the Rana dynasty, which had controlled the government for more than 100 years, was overthrown.[9] The coup d'état marked Nepal's first attempt at democracy;[9] one of the primary goals of the revolution was to eventually establish the Nepalese Constituent Assembly.[2] The democratic experiment was short-lived; in less than ten years, King Mahendra dissolved the government in favor of the Panchayat system.[9] However, another major accomplishment was the establishment of the National Election Commission in 1951.[10]
The commission was declared by law to be independent of the government in 1966.[11] This has been confirmed by Nepal's interim constitution in 2007.[12]
It has five members, consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and four others.[12] The members serve for 6 years.[12] In order to enforce its election guidelines, the commission employs a group of around 240,000 officials, mostly civil servants, to monitor elections.[12]
When the commission was established, the members were chosen by the King.[11] In 1989, King Birendra's constitution declared that the Chief Election Commissioner would still be appointed by the king, but the others would not.[11] The interim constitution further amended the body's composition in 2006: all five members were made under appointment of the Prime Minister.[12]
The commission came under some criticism during the Constituent Assembly elections for failing to enforce the code of conduct during elections.[6] It also failed to fully educate voters about the election.[6] However, it was acknowledged to have helped the elections run smoothly overall.[13]