By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel Soon after the date of the election to the House of Representatives and Provincial was announced, some groups launched a social media campaign, “no not again”. The campaign was a noble attempt to aware voters to use their rational thinking while voting and elect the appropriate candidate to govern them. Through the campaign, they spoke the minds of the general public who are betrayed by unaccountable and immoral leaders. But sadly, it faced the wrath of the Election Commission threatening it remove the post from its social media. Thanks to Supreme Court, it issued an order against EC's move. "No, not again" campaign is a social media campaign. It aims to aware the voters to use their consciousness and wisdom while voting and not elect the inappropriate candidate. In the post, the groups targeted mainly veteran politicians including incumbent Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli, CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Puspa Kamal Dahal, CPN (Unified Socialist) chief Madhav Kumar Nepal and the party’s senior leader former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, and Nepal Samajbadi Party chief and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is not contesting the upcoming elections. This was a noble imitative calling for people to use their common sense as we had been electing the wrong person to lay the ground to suffer for the next five years. But what puzzles this is what led the Election Commission to issue a statement warning the campaign to remove social media posts containing photographs of prominent leaders and take down the campaign’s Facebook page or face a five-year jail and a fine worth one hundred thousand rupees as per Article 47 of the Electronic Transaction Act. Such a move on the part of the Election Commission clearly indicates that we are not allowed to exercise our democratic rights to protest peacefully. Established in 1951, The Election Commission is a constitutional body responsible for conducting and monitoring the election as well as registering the parties and candidates and reporting the election outcomes. This was born out of the 1950 revolution in Nepal. No saner mind would dare to challenge the roles it played in defending and strengthening democracy. But it is not understandable what led it to issue the statement warning the campaigners who were just protesting in peace full manner and exercising their democratic right. Any citizen has the right to campaign for or against a candidate but the commission’s move has attacked the essence and spirit of democracy and the constitution. Not only this, it has given the impression that it can infringe upon the democratic rights of the citizen. Such a move on the part of the Election Commission is a slap on our efforts to build a just and democratic society. Many knowledgeable observers say that Election Commission has been used as an instrument of political engineering and arm-twisting. They also do not hesitate to say that its chief serves at the pleasure of ruling elites. Though the allegation may not be justifiable, the recent move of the Election Commission certainly contributes to validating their claim. Now EC needs to come up with a convincing explanation that what led it to take the move to silence the democratic and peaceful campaign. We bid adieu to the century-old monarch with the hope to establish a democratic system. We also bid adieu to the autocratic ruler to build a system where people are the sovereign power. People never became sovereign, instead, we saw many kings and queens after removing one king. Our politicians, bureaucrats, public servants and other people holding influential positions tend to defend their respective stands and tend to justify the unjustifiable. No matter how illogical they seem at times -- whether they are in government or opposition, they hide their shortcomings. Our heads bow down in shame if a person known to the public as morally corrupt is awarded. Strangely, our leaders and members of constitutional bodies, bureaucrats and public servants have not realized that people have the right to protest peacefully. It is also very surprising that they think of themselves as kings. Over the years, many things have changed and many things have not changed. What has not changed is the mentality of these public figures. This is a transformative moment for us to turn the anguish into action that changes the course of the events for the generation to come. This is also an opportunity to teach the unaccountable, self-centred and immoral leaders to teach a lesson through our democratic franchise. With our rational thinking and consciousness, change is inevitable. We must confront these movements and actions that challenge our democratic rights to protest peacefully. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that no one dares to suppress our democratic voices. We must ensure that our rights to campaign in a peaceful manner are not challenged by some select crooks. I stand with those thousands of campaigners who have been peacefully protesting through social media calling people to use their rational thinking. I extend my solidarity to these campaigners who are defending and strengthening democracy. They truly deserve a pat on the back for such a campaign. Their peaceful “no, not again" campaign will surely yield a positive dividend.