Government Accelerates Preparations for Upcoming Election, Approves Budgets

Kathmandu – The government has intensified preparations for the upcoming election, with the Ministry of Finance moving ahead with fund allocation and management for election-related expenses.

Election expenditures primarily fall under the Home Ministry and the Election Commission. After discussions on the budgets submitted by these bodies, the Finance Ministry has ensured the necessary funding.

Finance Minister Rameshwar Khanal, upon taking office, had committed that the government would provide the required budget for elections without any reluctance.

However, during the budget approval process, the Finance Ministry granted significantly less than requested for election security under the Home Ministry, while the Election Commission’s budget was almost fully approved.

According to officials, the Home Ministry had requested NPR 1.721 billion, but the Finance Ministry approved NPR 1.039 billion.

The Home Ministry had asked for NPR 315.4 million for central, provincial, and district command posts and election cells. The Nepal Police requested NPR 1.202 billion, including the budget for auxiliary police.

The Armed Police Force’s request was NPR 448 million, the National Investigation Department NPR 68.9 million, and 77 district administration offices NPR 314.6 million, totaling NPR 1.721 billion.

The Finance Ministry approved NPR 713 million for the Nepal Police, including recruitment of 133,000 auxiliary police, NPR 808.4 million for the Armed Police Force, and NPR 240 million for other election-related expenses.

In total, only around 60% of the Home Ministry’s requested budget was approved.