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The November by-elections saw decent turnouts, extremely low invalid votes and absolutely no disputes over the results.
On 30 November, 2019, Nepal successfully completed the by-elections. A total of 337 candidates, among whom 34 were women, contested the polls, which were held to fill 52 vacant positions at the local, provincial and federal levels.
The by-elections were generally accepted as peaceful, with votes being counted and results being announced immediately after polling ended. There were no disputes over the results. The voter turnout for the by-elections stood at 65.5%, and the percentage of invalid votes was 1.7%.
One of the reasons for the low rate of invalid votes was the design of the ballot structure: having individual ballot papers in most places, and designing a specific ballot paper for each constituency after candidate nomination, meant that all electoral symbols had candidates associated with them. This move made voting easier for the public.
The Election Commission, Nepal also ensured that voter and civic education reached those at the grassroots. In order to do so, it collaborated with the Ministry of Education’s Community Learning Centres to provide voter and civic education to their local communities, especially the marginalized. In addition to this, the Commission enhanced its outreach and made a conscious effort to keep the voters informed. Based on its first social media strategy, it reached over 1 million people through Facebook, while its website had a dedicated space to provide regular updates about the by-elections.
In the lead up to the by-elections, the Electoral Support Project supported the Commission in various activities: a Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) workshop on Electoral Operational Planning; a BRIDGE workshop with people with disabilities to make the electoral process more accessible; an event with the Government and political parties on the implementation of the code of conduct; training of the Chief/Returning Officers; an Electoral Dispute Resolution instruction session; and an information session for journalists.
The Electoral Support Project- Phase II (ESP) is a technical assistance initiative which focuses on a long-term institutional and professional capacity development of the Election Commission (ECN) for conducting credible, inclusive and transparent elections. The objectives of the project are 1) to strengthen the capacity of the ECN to function as an independent and credible institution, 2) to allow the conduct of the election cycle in an effective, sustainable, and credible manner, and 3) to increase democratic participation, particularly for under-represented and disadvantaged segments of the Nepali society. In 2019, the ESP was funded by the EU and UNDP.
