Electoral Momentum

The election process is steadily gaining steam nationwide along with the issuance of the final lists of candidates and allotment of poll symbols to all the contestants under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category. Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and Provincial Assemblies slated for November 20 will elect a total of 275 members of the HoR and 500 members of the provincial legislatures in all seven provinces under both the FPTP and the proportional representation (PR) categories. As per the revised lists of candidates brought out by the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday, altogether 2,412 (2,187 male and 225 female) aspirants are vying for 165 seats of HoR while a total of 3,224 nominees (2,943 male, 280 female and one third gender) are contesting for 330 seats of provincial legislatures under the FPTP category. The election body has removed the names of 119 and 257 candidates registered for HoR and provincial legislatures, respectively. That figure includes both the contestants who withdrew their candidacies and those whose nominations were cancelled on legal grounds.

In line with the election laws, party candidates have received their respective parties’ election symbols. Candidates from the parties without national recognition but registered with the election body have also got poll symbols. Likewise, independent nominees have been allotted election symbols from among the ones enlisted in the Election Directives. Of the total of 86 political parties registered for election purposes, 57 are taking part in the two-tier polls which are being held in a single phase. In the 2017 elections, 55 parties had fielded their candidacies. With the allotment of election symbols to candidates, parties and aspirants can launch their election campaigns 17 days before the voting day as stipulated in the election code of conduct issued by the EC. 

There will be no election to a Provincial Assembly seat in Manang district (B) as independent candidate Rajib Gurung (Deepak Manange) has become a lone contestant. Gurung will be declared elected unopposed. The publication of the final list of candidates has also paved the way for the EC to advance the process of printing ballot papers for elections under the FPTP system. The election body has already completed the task of printing ballot papers for polls under the PR system. In the meantime, preparations are underway to deal with the security challenges identified by the team formed to formulate an integrated security plan for the November 20 elections.  Minister for Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand has instructed the security agencies to address the security-related issues related to polls. Addressing a meeting of the Central Security Committee in Kathmandu on Wednesday, Minister Khand asked the chiefs of security bodies to make all necessary arrangements for the elections so as to evade possible untoward incidents. 

Meanwhile, the EC is dedicated to holding the elections in a free, fair and impartial manner by creating a fearless environment throughout the country. Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the election body stated that its serious attention was drawn towards the involvement of some locally elected representatives in canvassing. The poll code prevents such representatives from taking part in election campaigns. The EC warned that it would forward the process of taking action against those representatives if they were found flouting the poll code. It has also called upon one and all not to conduct any poll survey from the time of nomination of candidates to the date of election in view of its negative impact on fair polls.