INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Kathmandu, January 22 The Election Commission today said all preparations were over for the National Assembly elections scheduled to be held

tomorrow. Speaking at a press meet organised in Kathmandu today, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said the EC had

completed dispatching ballot papers and other necessary logistics to all the election offices established in seven districts where high

court is situated. Those districts include Morang, Dhanusha, Lalitpur, Kaski, Dang, Surkhet and Doti

He informed that seven district judges were appointed as election officers on the recommendation of the Judicial Council. Polling centres

have been set up at Birendra Academy (Biratnagar) for Province 1, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Memorial Building (Janakpur) for Province 2,

Lalitpur Metropolitan City-3 Ward Office for Bagmati Province, District Election Office (Kaski) for Gandaki Province, Employee Meeting

Centre (Ghorahi) for Province 5, District Election Office (Surkhet) for Karnali Province and Padam Public Mukti Narayan Higher Secondary

School (Silgadhi) for Suburpaschim Province. According to Thapaliya, as many as 2,056 voters, including 550 from provincial assemblies and

1,506 from local levels, are eligible to cast their ballots in the elections. A provincial assembly member vote has been given weightage of

48, whereas a vote of chief or deputy chief of a local level will carry weightage of 18 each. The voters would cast their ballots at the

concerned polling centres from 10:00am to 4:00pm tomorrow

As per the Election to the Members of the National Assembly Act-2017, it is required to hold the Upper House elections 35 days before the

tenure of one-third of the NA members expires

The 19 seats being represented by various political parties will fall vacant on March 3. Of the 19 seats, one shall be appointed by

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and the rest shall be elected on the basis of majority by an electoral college consisting of provincial

assembly members and chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the local levels. Of the 18 NA seats, seven women, two Dalits, one from

minority and differently-abled groups and two from ‘others& group will be elected by the provincial assembly members and chairs and deputy

chairs of local levels whose votes will carry different weightage. Thapaliya said Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Congress, Federal

Socialist Forum-Nepal, Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, Rastriya Janamorcha and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party had filed candidatures for the

elections. &We have strictly put in place the election code, while making special security arrangements to hold the elections in a free and

fear environment,& he said. The post National Assembly elections today appeared first on The Himalayan Times.