New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) Political parties and candidates contesting Nepal’s upcoming March 5 general elections are increasingly targeting social media platforms, with a surge in advertising spending on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Messenger, according to a media report.
According to Nepal’s Kathmandu Post, data between October 20 and January 11 showed that the Rastriya Pariwartan Party spent the most on Facebook advertising during this period.
“Following its merger with Ujyalo Nepal on January 15, the party promoted content through its main page, a page named Gen–Z United Movement, and the pages of its district chapters,” it added.
Nepal’s Gatisheel Loktantrik Party also featured among the highest spenders, where several pages and district chapters ran continuous sponsored posts.
The newspaper report also found that in terms of numbers, the Gatisheel party’s main Facebook page posted 39 sponsored content over the past three months.
The Rastriya Pariwartan Party, formed in November last year under the leadership of Rajesh Portel, who lost a leg during the Gen Z movement, spent USD 1,199 on its own Facebook page in the past three months, the report mentioned.
The party’s Okhaldhunga unit spent USD 240, while Gen-Z United and the Panchthar chapter contributed USD 427 and USD 100, respectively, among others, accounting for an overall spending of USD 2,360.
The report found the data from these three months showing “parties and candidates spending lavishly, raising concerns over transparency and targeted campaigning”.
Technology expert Dovan told the newspaper that while social media has democratised election outreach, offering broader and cheaper access, “digital campaigns show both ethical and unethical tendencies”.
Among other organisations, the report identified Gatisheel Loktantrik Party, with USD 1,116 spent across 39 ads in the past three months, as the second-highest spender in this form of campaign.
Buddha Air owner and founder of Gatisheel Loktantrik Party, Birendra Bahadur Basnet, was also reported to have used both the party’s official page and his secretariat page for election-focused campaigns. Shree Gurung, a founding member of Ujyalo Nepal, too has “actively invested in digital promotion”, found the report.
Over this time, he spent USD 489 on 11 advertisements, where in his previous elections, he had spent approximately USD 5,968 on social media, finishing third with 2,761 votes from Kathmandu-5 constituency, where he is again a contender.
“A Facebook page named Citizens for Voting Nepal, which calls itself a non-partisan initiative promoting voter literacy, spent USD 417 on a single ad from November 21 to 23,” noted the article, adding that featured graphics explained online registration for voter ID, aiming to inform voters how to complete the process online.
Meanwhile, from the Nepali Congress Party, Sunil Kumar Sharma, a medical entrepreneur contesting from Morang-3, spent USD 289 on three ads in the past 90 days. Also, a page named ‘RSP Coverage Yugesh’ spent USD 230, though its content appeared to focus on promoting specific candidates rather than general party coverage.
Additionally, Facebook ads were also visible for Nepali Communist Party leader Jhalanath Khanal and Rastriya Prajatantra Party chairman Rajendra Lingden.
Overall, the newspaper found that Meta’s data from January 11 to 17 showed a “slight decrease in spending”. It also contended that with nominations for direct elections filed, the volume of social media advertisements is expected to surge. Parties and candidates are likely to increase their budgets.
Nepal’s Election Commission has announced stricter monitoring of social media advertising this year. It is also monitoring fake and misleading news.
The upcoming poll is being held under an interim administration led by the country’s first female justice, Sushila Karki. In September last year, the K. P. Sharma Oli government had to step down when a large-scale anti-corruption stir by the youth took place all across Nepal, termed as “Gen Z protests”.
–IANS
jb/dan
