December 25: The Election Commission has started making preparations for mid-term election after the government dissolved the parliament last week. The government has already announced the new dates for election on April 30 and May 10.

It is estimated that the cost of election will be higher this time as the Election Commission has to adopt additional security measures to avoid contraction of coronavirus. However, the fate of election is not yet certain  as writ petitions have be filed at the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the House of Representatives.

According to the Election Commission, the election commissioners have been holding meetings on a daily basis to make preparations to hold the election on the dates fixed by the government. Preliminary estimates made by the commissioners have indicated that the mid-term election will be costly this year due to coronavirus pandemic and additional measures required to prevent the disease from spreading.

Officials at the EC say it is possible to hold the election in the fixed dates but the cost factor will be high.

Spokesperson at the Election Commission Raj Kumar Shrestha informed that the reasons behind costly election include coronavirus pandemic and inflation. Shrestha clarified that the commission will have to adopt safety measures for all activities leading up to the election which is certain to increase the cost of election.

He further said that the EC will have to hold discussions with the political parties for which it needs to adopt adequate safety measures while such measures also need to be ensured at polling booths and election centres where the vote count will take place.

“India and the USA adopted high safety measures during election to prevent the spread of coronavirus. We also need to follow suit,” said Shrestha, adding, “It is not as simple as before. The cost will definitely go up.”

The Election Commission also said that inflation has increased and the cost of every good has gone up and therefore the cost of election is also going to be higher than the previous election.

During the last elections held in 2017/18, the commission had alone spent Rs 7.75 billion for conducting the provincial elections and the election for the House of Representatives at once. The cost required to mobilize army and police was covered by the home ministry. The ministry had to spend around Rs 2.25 billion, according to the EC. The government has directly spent Rs 10 billion from the state coffers for the election. Considering the cost covered by other government agencies, the total cost of election was Rs 20 billion, according to officials at the EC. The commission will require at least the same amount that it spent during the last election but officials at the commission haven’t quoted the exact amount right now.

The commission says that the cost factor can be reduced if the election is held in a single day instead of holding it in two separate dates.