Kathmandu (PTI) — Nepal’s election commission on Friday asked people to refrain from indulging in a negative campaign targeting top political leaders, warning that those involved in such “false and misleading” publicity will be penalised under cyber crime laws.

This is for the second time the Election Commission in Nepal has issued such a warning within a week, as the “No, not again” campaign against Nepal’s veteran politicians, who have won elections time and again, is trending on social media ahead of the November 20 elections.

“Do not indulge in negative publicity targeting certain candidates as it cannot be considered ‘freedom of expression’,” the election commission said in a statement.

The campaign, launched by a group of youth, urges people not to vote for incumbent and former prime ministers, including Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli, CPN-Unified Socialist chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda”.

It also exhorts people not to vote for senior leader of CPN-Unified Socialist Jhalanath Khanal and leftist leader and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai during the Parliamentary elections scheduled for November 20. Nepal is going for Parliamentary and provincial level polls on the same day.

“Repeating the same old person, who has failed to deliver to the people, in the Parliamentary election will deprive other qualified people from gaining power,” one of the campaigners said.

The campaign has become a top trend on social media, including on Twitter and Facebook, despite the warning issued by the election commission (EC).

“The EC is seriously monitoring such type of unwanted, false and misleading publicity directed against certain political parties or candidates,” the statement said. “The EC observes zero tolerance against such types of false and misleading publicity,” it added. PTI SBP MRJ MRJ