KATHMANDU, July 27: In the local elections held on May 13 this year, Rs 284 was spent per voter, according to the Election Commission (EC). The cost is less than that borne in the local level election of 2017. The expenses for elections seem to have been slightly lesser as they were held in one phase instead of two or three phases.

Comparing the expenses of the three elections since the implementation of federalism, the recent election’s expenses appear to be frugal. The expenses of the earlier local elections were higher as they were conducted in three phases. According to the data released by the EC, the recent local elections were a bit cheaper than the Constituent Assembly elections held in 2013 and the House of Representatives, Provincial Assembly and local level elections held in 2017.

A total of Rs 5.43 billion, excluding security expenses, was spent on holding the recent local elections. As many as 17.7 million voters participated in the elections. Distributing the total expenses among the total voters, Rs 284 was spent per voter in the elections. This figure is lower than that of the Constituent Assembly elections of 2013. The EC said that the recent local elections were held using internal resources only. According to the commission, external resources were used only for technical and managerial expenses.

In 2017, Rs 7.15 billion was spent to hold the local level elections in three phases. The expenditure per voter was Rs 509 in that election. According to the commission, Rs 385,000 was spent on one polling station. There were 18,773 polling stations across the country. Among the 14.07 million listed voters, 10.4 million cast their votes.

Similarly, according to the commission’s data, Rs 493 was spent per voter in the second Constituent Assembly elections held in 2013. The elections, which had a total of 12.1 million listed voters, witnessed a total expenditure of Rs 5.98 billion. A total of 9.5 million votes were cast in the elections. There were 18,755 polling stations where Rs 318,000 was spent on each polling station. At that time, Rs 1.13 billion was received from external sources.

Likewise, Rs 506 was spent per voter in the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections held in 2017. At that time, there were 15.4 million voters and 19,809 polling stations across the country. The EC claims that a total of Rs 7.8 billion was spent on the election. The expenditure per polling center was Rs 393,000.

 
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