The National Human Rights Commission has said candidates of major parties involved children in election campaigns going against the election code of conduct.

The constitutional human rights watchdog in a statement on Friday said it has received 165 complaints from 72 districts regarding the involvement of children in electioneering.

According to the commission, activities involving children include filming TikTok videos, making them perform dances during campaigning, and using them to paste publicity materials in schools. The NHRC said such activities were widely reported in Dang, Pyuthan, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Ramechhap, Doti and Kathmandu among other districts.

The commission has requested the government and the Election Commission to make the elections free and fair as well as human rights friendly. The NHRC said that dozens of human rights violations have occurred during the monitoring carried out so far.

According to Tikaram Pokharel, spokesperson of the commission, 32 teams including the high-level monitoring team of the commission visited 67 districts of all the seven provinces and monitored the human rights situation before the elections.

The commissions further said violent incidents have occurred in different districts ahead of polls including bomb explosions in Nepalgunj and Bhojpur.