General election taking place today

KATHMANDU: Following the promulgation of the constitution in 2072 BS, the second general elections to the House of Representatives and the State Assembly are being held in a single phase across the country today (Nov 20).

According to the Election Commission (EC), all election-related preparations have concluded.

It has urged all citizens to exercise their right to vote without being influenced, fearful, or intimidated, stating that all election-related administrative tasks have been completed and security arrangements have been put in place to ensure free, fair, and credible elections.

According to the report, 246,960 employees and approximately 300,000 security personnel have arrived at their respective duty stations with election materials for the twin polls. Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, Chief Election Commissioner, urged voters to vote confidently.

The EC has directed election staff, security personnel, observers, monitoring team members, and any other individual to notify the appropriate authorities of any activity that jeopardizes the election process, and has asked the appropriate authorities to prevent such activity from occurring and to take action against the wrongdoers.

Three layers of security have been put in place, and a “reserve force” has been set up to respond to any untoward activities within 30 minutes, according to reports.

According to the Commission, there are 17,988,570 registered voters and 22,227 voting centers in 10,892 polling stations. Similarly, 141 temporary polling stations have been set up, and approximately 450,000 temporary voters can vote at their nearest polling station.

According to the closed list submitted to the Commission, there are 2,412 candidates running in the House of Representatives under the First-Past-The-Post system (FPTP), and 2,199 candidates running under the Proportional Representation (PR). Similarly, 3,224 candidates are running in the State Assembly under the FPTP system, and 3,708 are running under the PR system.

For the twin elections, a total of 80,567,500 ballot papers have been printed and delivered to designated polling places.

In total, 7,219 national and international observers have been assigned to the elections. The EC has issued identity cards to approximately 7,500 observers.

A team of the body to manage elections, including chief election commissioners from neighboring India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Maldives, as well as election commissioners from Sri Lanka and South Korea, is scheduled to observe the voting at the EC’s invitation.

Representatives from 18 diplomatic missions in Nepal will also be present.