Nepal’s richest who used to bankroll parties from the sidelines in exchange for personal, professional and policy favours, have decided it makes more sense to enter politics themselves.
Money, not political competency, has therefore become a deciding factor in who is ultimately elected into leadership. But because politics and ill-gotten wealth feed each other, governance suffers.
Nepal’s political parties, meanwhile, have to fudge poll spending because of expense limitations set by the Election Commission.
The Nepali Congress (NC) listed only Rs48.7 million in election expenses, the UML Rs20.9, while the Maoist Center just Rs8.3 million in 2017. The NC also listed Rs20.9 million in donations, while the UML said it got only Rs40.6 million from businesses.
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In reality, a study by the Election Observation Committee shows that campaigning expenses were vastly underreported in 2017. It estimates that parties spent Rs51 billion in just local elections, and Rs46 billion was used to garner votes for the federal Parliament.
“I had never seen so much cash in one place before,” said a member of the NC’s election-targeted finance management committee. “We saw businessmen come and go with suitcases full of money. It was strictly cash. They did not want to leave a paper trail.”
Political parties have also relied on membership fees to raise funds. The UML raked in Rs41.9 million through such levies in the last fiscal year. But that is nowhere near enough to cover campaigning costs. This means falling back on big business for funding.