The Election Commission has demanded Rs1.7 billion for holding the third phase of local elections in Province 2 on September 18. 

Local elections were held in provinces 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the first and second phases on May 14 and June 28.

Earlier, the EC had returned Rs3 billion to the Finance Ministry as not all of the budget—Rs10.3 billion—released by the ministry to the election body was spent last fiscal year.

EC Spokesperson Surya Sharma said the money would be spent on mobilisation and training of staffers, voter education and logistics. 

The EC does not have to spend extra for ballot papers, ballot boxes and other materials as they have already been purchased.

According to the Finance Ministry, Rs35 billion in total has been allocated in the current fiscal year for holding the remaining polls including the elections for provincial assemblies, the federal House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

The constitution requires these elections to be held by January 21, 2018, when the term of the Legislature-Parliament expires. 

During the first and second phases of local elections, the EC spent Rs6.03 billion in total, making the ongoing election costliest in Nepal. The amount is expected to rise further when all the payments are made.

The EC spent Rs4.26 billion on logistics, training and human resource management for the Constituent Assembly elections held in 2013. The amount spent in the 2008 CA polls was Rs3.35 billion. These figures do not include the security expenditures.

The election body usually spends some 60 percent of resources on staff while the rest goes to logistical arrangements such as purchasing poll materials and printing and delivering ballot papers, according to EC officials. (PR)