Digital Rights Nepal Urges Election Commission To Immediately Stop Selling Voter Lists

Kathmandu: Digital Rights Nepal has urged the Election Commission of Nepal to immediately suspend the provision allowing voter details to be distributed in digital form to political parties and independent candidates.

The Election Commission has issued the House of Representatives Member Election Directive, 2082, which allows registered political parties and independent candidates to obtain voter lists by paying a prescribed fee.

However, Digital Rights Nepal has demanded an immediate suspension of the provision. It said the distribution of voter details in this manner violates the Constitution and the Personal Privacy Act, 2075 BS.

Under the directive, political parties and independent candidates can receive a digital copy of the voter list, excluding date of birth, citizenship number, and mobile number.

Digital Rights Nepal has also raised concerns about the final voter list published on the Election Commission’s website. The publicly accessible list includes personal details such as voter number, age, gender, spouse’s name, and parents’ names.

According to the organization, the availability of such information allows the creation of detailed personal profiles and makes individuals easily identifiable. It said these details fall under information protected by the Personal Privacy Act, and their disclosure could seriously infringe on the right to personal privacy.

“Preparing a digital copy of the voter list containing these details and distributing it on private devices will further aggravate violations of citizens’ personal privacy,” Digital Rights Nepal said. “The risk of misuse increases not only during the election period but also after elections.”

The organization cited Sections 3(5) and 11(4) of the Personal Privacy Act, 2075 BS, which allow voter identity details to be made public only in limited circumstances. These include explicit consent of the individual, cases where individuals have made the information public themselves, or use for research purposes.

Digital Rights Nepal said none of these conditions were met before publishing voter details under the election directive.

“This is not a case where voters themselves made the details public,” the organization said in its letter of attention. “The publication is not for accessing public services, nor is it based on a court order or a criminal investigation. Therefore, the exceptions mentioned in the law do not apply.”

Digital Rights Nepal has also demanded a review of the scope of personal details currently made public on the Commission’s website. It has called for the information to be limited as necessary.

The organization further urged the Election Commission to amend the election guidelines to align them with constitutional principles and the Personal Privacy Act. It also requested consultations with civil society, legal experts, and human rights organizations before making amendments.

Santosh Sigdel, Executive Director of Digital Rights Nepal, said the letter of attention has been prepared but not yet registered with the Election Commission.

“We prepared the letter on Saturday,” he said. “However, as today is a public holiday, we could not register it. We will submit it as soon as the office opens.”

 

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