Nepal’s election commission mulls change in voter education strategy

kathmandu – The Electoral Commission (EC) is considering revamping its voter education strategy after preliminary data from the March 5 House of Representatives election revealed a large number of invalid votes. Suman Ghimire, the commission’s information officer, said more than 5 percent of votes cast under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system were invalid, a figure that top electoral authorities took seriously despite an extensive voter education program ahead of the vote.

“There has been a strong effort to educate voters to increase participation and minimize invalid votes. But preliminary data shows the number of invalid votes has not dropped as expected,” Gimmel said.

The committee said that under the proportional representation (PR) system, the proportion of invalid votes was significantly lower, at around three per cent.

Preliminary assessments by the electoral body indicate that many ballots in the FPTP system are invalid because voters marked multiple election symbols on their ballots requiring them to choose only one candidate. Ballots marked with two or more symbols will automatically be deemed invalid.

The commission is also considering changes to its approach to voter education after higher-than-expected invalid turnout. Officials say traditional publicity campaigns alone may not be enough.

As a result, the committee plans to involve political parties and candidates with direct contact with voters in future voter education efforts aimed at reducing invalid votes in the upcoming election, Ghimiel said.