The document discusses the Election Commission of Nepal's (ECN) collaborations with stakeholders to enhance electoral credibility. It outlines five categories of ECN's interface with civil society organizations, including advocacy, observation, voter education, registration, and media engagement. The ECN works with regional groups like the Forum of Electoral Management Bodies of South Asia to share best practices and advance inclusion and credibility. It aims to continue building partnerships with CSOs and opening further to civil society and media input.

1. COLLABORATIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS:
Enhancing electoral credibility in Nepal
ECN’s interface ith Nepal’s Ci il Society and ith
FEMBoSA

2. Election Commission of Nepal
• The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) is a constitutional,
independent institution like most EMBs of South Asian Countries.
• Autonomous, self-regulatory and quasi-judicial Constitution.
• 5 Commissioners including a Chief Commissioner supported by a
Secretariat of approx 700 employees in all the 75 districts of Nepal.
• ECN is to conduct, supervise, direct and control elections of
President, Vice-President, Members of Federal Parliament, State
Assemblies and Local Bodies as well as referendum on issues of
national importance according to the Constitution of Nepal (2015)

3. Collaborations with stakeholders
• National Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
• Forum of Electoral Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA)
• Other EMBs, development and implementing partners (Partners)
• Stakeholders within Government of Nepal (GoN Agencies)

4. ECN and examples of CSO engagement
• Consultations on regulations and processes affecting voters and CSOs
• Consultations for reforms to legal framework and
regulations/guidelines/procedures
• Feedback to further improve inclusion
• CSO engagement has been valuable, realize the need of a Policy and
strategy
• In the pipeline are new voter education policy, strategy, new
Communication and media policy and strategy
• We already have an o server’s poli y and strategy

5. Five categories of interface with CSOs
• Opinion building and Advocacy for policy reforms
• Observers
• Voters education
• Voters registration (Engagement of IFES on behalf of ECN)
• Engagement with the Media

6. Way forward
• Three direct elections within a period of 2 years or less
• Two indirect elections, where separate electoral colleges will elect the
National Assembly (upper house), the President and vice-president
Therefore-
• The ECN will continue partnerships and call CSOs to action to contribute
towards wider outreach, as well as widen their roles in observing and
reporting, and providing feedback to the electoral process.
• The ECN will also continue to build capacities of the CSOs and their
members, so as to ensure an informed civil society that can play a
significant role in enhancing the reach, inclusion and overall credibility of
the electoral process.

7. Way forward contd.
• The ECN will continue to consult Think tanks and alliances of CSOs on
framing and revising regulations and guidelines that affect voters and
CSOs
• The ECN will continue engagement with CSOs to ensure reforms to
electoral laws and processes to enhance inclusive and credible
elections.
• ECN to redefine function as EMBs to include excellence and quality
apart from the core function of conduct of elections
• ECN to deepen engagement with CSOs as the solutions lie in better
transparency and better engagement; transparency can be withheld
at time for the sake of better transparency, but cannot be forsaken

8. Need for opening up
• Traditionally core function of EMB to conduct election, aspiring for
quality or excellence was none of its business, Conservative and
bureaucratic EMBs
• Engagement with CSO imperative for credibility and integrity of
elections
• Therefore a Need to be more forthcoming with the civil society
• In Nepal, we are opening up to the civil society and the Media
because we realize that they can be our allies in our pursuit of
credibility and transparency.

9. FEMBoSA and importance of regional alliance
•Regional Forum for co-operation among
SAARC EMBs
•Conceived by the First Meeting of Heads of
EMBs of SAARC member countries, Dhaka,
2010.

10. FEMBoSA: Enabling sharing of best electoral
practices in the region
• Periodic meetings: Sharing of country practices (variety of issues)
• Work-plan: Studies to develop the way forward for the region
• Autonomy and independence
• Strategic Planning for EMBs
• Political/campaign finance
• Electoral technology
• Electoral Dispute Resolution
• Media engagement and monitoring, etc.
• Inclusion, wider voter outreach and
credibility: priority regional issues

11. FEMBoSA contd.
• Second Meeting, Pakistan, 2011 shared experiences and decided to
take concrete steps towards formalizing the forum of heads of EMBs
of South Asian countries.
• Third Meeting, New Delhi, 2012 Charter of FEMBoSA signed.
• Fourth meeting, Bhutan, 2013 on the theme "Sharing experiences
and resources for better electoral practices in South Asia"

12. FEMBoSA contd.
• Fifth meeting, 2014, Kathmandu with the theme "Regulating
campaign finance: ensuring free and fair elections"
• Major highlights of Kathmandu Resolution
• Establishment of South Asian Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Studies (SAIDES)
• Commitment to conduct more research regionally on campaign
finance, to form regional alliance, to introduce electoral/voter
education curriculum at school level, to ensure inclusion and gender
equality in overall electoral process and system, to organize exposure
visits for sharing of experiences and best practices in the region
among others.

13. FEMBoSA contd.
• The Sixth Meeting was held in Colombo in 2015 with the main theme
of "Autonomy and Independence of EMB".
• The Seventh Meeting in Maldives, this August, 2016.
• The Meeting followed up on previous Resolutions, came up with
eight point Male Resolution.
• Highlights are adopting modern technology for conducting free and
fair elections, adopting inclusive electoral process with especial focus
on differently abled electors, sharing good practices in the
mechanism on electoral dispute resolution.

14. South Asian Institute Democracy Electoral
Studies (SAIDES)
• All countries of this region share common socio-political contexts
• High time we started building our own body of good practices
• Objectives are to document & consolidate the knowledge created in
the EMBs during their respective elections
• Conduct cutting edge research based on such knowledge
• Contribute such research findings to policymaking of EMBs.

15. SAIDES
• It will engage with CSOs and academia, including Universities and
Think Tanks and encourage independent and collaborative research
on electoral and allied subjects under the umbrella of SAIDES
• Potential for the biggest institutionalized mechanism for collaboration
between EMBs and CSOs.