India and China will provide vehicles, riot control equipment, and cash for Nepal’s upcoming parliamentary elections slated for March 5.

Earlier, the Sushila Karki government, which took office in the wake of the Gen Z revolt in September, had decided to accept support only from India and China, saying that internal resources would not be enough to conduct the elections. To secure Rs100 billion for the elections, the Ministry of Finance then started trimming the number of projects that had been included in the budget by the previous government under political pressure.

India has already handed over 60 double-cab pickup vehicles and other supplies on January 20 as part of the assistance requested by Nepal for preparations ahead of the March elections.

“Based on requests by the government of Nepal, India has been providing election-related support to Nepal since 2008. This includes about 2,400 vehicles that have been gifted by the Government of India for various ministries and departments in Nepal including the Election Commission,” said a statement issued by the Embassy of India. For the upcoming elections, the assistance provided by India includes about 650 vehicles, which will continue to be delivered in separate batches, over the next few weeks, officials said. India will hand over rest numbers of vehicles in different tranches, according to officials at Nepal’s home and foreign ministries.

Hundreds of police vehicles were destroyed in arson attacks during the Gen Z protests. To meet regular demands, the police plan to procure an additional 377 vehicles of various types.

India is also providing riot control equipment ahead of the March election, said Home Ministry officials. This week, India is going to hand over another batch of vehicles and supplies, which may include riot control equipment, sources at the ministry told the Post.

A senior Finance Ministry official told the Post that China will provide Nepal up to Rs1.5 billion for elections. Earlier, through the Ministry of Finance, the government had requested electronic items, including CCTV cameras and drones, for election surveillance. China, however, refused citing time constraints, the senior official said. “Now they have decided to provide cash.”

Some government decisions, such as filing a case against a Chinese firm over corruption in the Pokhara Regional Airport project, calling for a fresh tender for 5G installation for Nepal Telecom, and cancellation of a multi-billion billing tender of Nepal Telecom, upset the Chinese side, officials said. “As a result, we could not receive the desired support in kind,” an official told the Post.

“As a token, China will provide cash support for the elections,” the Finance Ministry official said.

The Finance Ministry will use the Chinese cash for election expenditure including perks and allowances to the security personnel and election officials to be debuted in the booths.

The new Chinese ambassador, Zhang Maoming, who is expected to arrive in Kathmandu to take up his new diplomatic assignment by mid-February, will hand over the assistance to the government, according to the official.