The Election Code of Conduct for the upcoming Presidential and Vice Presidential elections will come into effect from Wednesday to ensure free, fair and credible elections, the Election Commission (EC) said.

EC’s Spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Poudel said the Election Code of Conduct, 2022 would be effective from March 1 to 19 and asked political parties and leaders to comply with the code of conduct.

The code of conduct will apply to Nepal government, ministers, staffers of federal, provincial and local government, security agencies, security personnel, candidates, representatives of the candidates, political parties, people holding public posts and media, among others.

The elections for the post of President and Vice President are due on March 9 and 17 respectively. A total of 882 lawmakers, including 332 in the Federal Parliament and 550 in the provincial assemblies, will cast their votes for both posts.

Poudel said the commission has enforced a code of conduct using the authority given by Section 22 of the Election Commission Act-2073.

The code of conduct has been published in the Nepal Gazette Volume-72, Number 32 on August 29, 2022.

“It is the duty and responsibility of all parties concerned to maintain the integrity and credibility of the election by following the election code of conduct,” read the EC’s notice.

The EC further appealed for the cooperation of all sectors to conduct the election in a fair manner that respects the right of all the voters to vote freely in accordance with the code of conduct.

Senior leader of Nepali Congress Ram Chandra Poudel and CPN-UML vice-chair Subas Chandra Nembang are vying for post of the Head of State. The EC on Tuesday published the final name list of the candidates.