The Election Commission is rolling out a nationwide virtual and in-person voter education campaign next month, aiming to minimise invalid votes in the upcoming midterm elections.

As per the preliminary plan, the commission will air public service announcements on national and local radio and television stations. It will also share information through newspaper ads, online news portals, YouTube content, and various social media platforms.

Since the commission recognises that many voters may not have reliable access to online tools and that face-to-face instruction is often more effective, it is preparing to deploy volunteers in every ward. These volunteers will guide voters on the right way to cast their ballots so that their votes are not disqualified.

The government has approved the budget for voter education, said Ram Prasad Bhandari, the acting chief election commissioner. “We are working on different modalities and contents for it.”

The government has released Rs4.96 billion to the commission as the election budget. This includes the cost of voter education.

Kul Bahadur GC, assistant spokesperson for the commission, said the issue of voter education was discussed during a meeting with Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal on Friday.

“The budget released by the government is less than what the commission had sought. However, the home minister assured that there will be no shortage of money to hold the elections successfully,” he said, adding that the government is positive about voter education programmes.

Records at the commission show that 5.06 percent of votes cast in the last House of Representatives elections were invalid. While 6.55 percent of ballots cast for proportional representation turned out to be invalid, it was 4.07 percent for the first-past-the-post category.

Province-wise, the share of invalid votes stood highest at 5.7 percent in Sudurpashim and the lowest at 4.16 percent in Bagmati. The invalid votes stood as high as 13 percent in some of the local units in the previous local polls.

Generally, voter education is targeted at imparting knowledge of the basic voting procedure, which includes how to register, where to place the stamp on the ballot paper, and how to fold the ballot properly before placing it in the ballot box. Many voters remain unaware that even a slight stamp outside the designated box for a candidate’s symbol can invalidate their vote.

As the number of first-time voters is expected to be higher this time, the importance of voter education is even greater, according to officials at the commission. As of Friday night, the number of registered voters after the election dates were announced has reached 281,129.

The commission continued the voter registration process on Saturday as well. Of the total, 80,456 new voters were listed online, while others got registered from the commission’s offices.

As many as 17,988,570 voters—9,140,806 men, 8,847,579 women and 185 from other categories—were eligible to cast their ballots in November 2022. In April this year, the number had increased by 160,054 to 18,148,654 over a gap of two-and-a-half years. As per the commission’s report, as many as 18,148,654 voters were listed until Chaitra [mid-April].

Experts argue that providing technical voting instructions alone is insufficient. They emphasise that proper voter education should also explain the purpose of voting.

People should understand that voting is both a right and a responsibility, giving citizens the power to choose who will govern, they say.

“Voter education in a true sense should inform the people what kind of people to vote for,” said Pradip Pokharel, former chief of the Election Observation Committee Nepal. “If the commission cannot do so, it can mobilise civil society organisations for that."

They stress that the most important part of voter education is helping voters realise that every vote carries weight. A single vote can play a decisive role in electing or defeating a candidate, making informed participation essential in any election.