Nepal, Feb. 1 -- As Nepal prepares for the upcoming polls, scheduled for March 5, the people will be voting to institutionalise democracy, transparency and economic stability. People are concerned about political outcomes, but there are also concerns about election costs, which will now collide with a weakening investment climate and growing public borrowing.

Elections are a democratic exercise and, in general, are expensive, not only in Nepal but in most democracies. The Election Commission (EC) has estimated a preliminary budget of around Rs7.5 billion. If we add security costs, allocated at Rs20 billion, the government's direct burden increases to approximately Rs27 billion. While the EC claimed it is trying to limit purchases to 'ess...