Preparations Complete for HoR Elections, Results Expected within 24 Hours: EC

The Election Commission (EC) has stated that all preparations for the elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) scheduled for tomorrow were completed.

At a press meet organized at the EC today on the eve of the voting, Officiating Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ram Prasad Bhandari confirmed that all preparations for conducting elections were over.

Officiating CEC Bhandari along with other officials reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to conducting the elections in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner as mandated by the constitution.

During the press meet, the EC officials shared that the EC has already dispatched all necessary ballot papers, ballot boxes and other election materials to all 10,967 polling stations and 23,112 polling centres including 143 temporary polling stations across the 165 constituencies.
Similarly, security and other logistic arrangements for the voting day have also been finalized, they added.

The Commission elaborated that polling stations have been set up and organized with proper management and are made accessible to everyone including people of all genders and people with disabilities. Required staffers have been recruited and deployed.

Assuring voters of robust security measures, the constitutional body responsible for conducting and monitoring the elections called on all the eligible voters to cast their ballot with confidence.

Acting CEC Bhandari, during the press meet, asserted, “An election is not merely a process of choosing representatives or forming a government. It is also a constitutional exercise to renew democratic legitimacy and cast invaluable votes.”

He argued that voting, which strengthens democracy, is both a right and a responsibility of citizens.

He took the press meet as an opportunity to clarify that there had been no complaints filed in the EC so far questioning the eligibility of any electoral candidates, and no such matters are under investigation as the reports doing round in the media.

As for the reports that some candidacies might be canceled, he mentioned that investigations would proceed only if formal complaints are registered with the EC.

Preparation to announce result within 24 hours of voting

The Commission further said that vote counting will commence after the voting is completed and the ballot boxes are brought to the designated vote counting centres.

Arrangements have been made to ensure that results under the First-Past-The-Post (direct) system are announced within 24 hours of the start of counting.

Likewise, vote counting under the proportional representation system will follow immediately afterward.

Ballot boxes from 61 constituencies in remote mountainous districts will be transported by Nepali Army helicopters while the ballot boxes from other constituencies will be brought by vehicles, explained the EC.

The EC assured that the security arrangements and collection of ballot boxes will be carried out according to the integrated security plan and they will remain safe.

Towards this, Acting CEC Bhandari ensured, “Ballot boxes will be collected as the same procedures used in the past. The Nepali Army will not collect them alone or separately. No need to be suspicious of it.”

In this election, the total number of voters is 10,893,689. Of them, 9,663,358 are male voters, 1,230,131 are female voters and 200 belong to other genders.

According to the EC, there are 186,142 temporary voters.

A total of 65 political parties are contesting under the first-past-the-post (direct) electoral system with 61 election symbols.

Under the direct system, there are 3,017 male candidates and 388 female candidates. One candidate from the other gender is also contesting, bringing the total number of candidates under this system to 3,406.

Similarly, under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system, 1,363 male and 1,772 female candidates who make a total of 3,135 candidates in the race. (RSS)

Voting under the direct electoral system is being held for 165 constituencies, while 110 seats are allocated under the PR system.