Mock voting held in Ilam, Biratnagar

By Our Correspondents 

Ilam/Rangeli, Nov. 3: In a bid to educate the voters for the upcoming November 20 elections to the House of Representatives, district election offices of Ilam and Morang  organised a mock voting in the local levels of the two districts on Wednesday. 

The mock voting completed in polling centers in a host of municipalities of Ilam district. Likewise, in Mornag, the mock voting was conducted in Biratnagar Metropolitan City. 

District Election Office Ilam has completed the sample voting programme and checked the situation of invalid votes.

According to Devi Charan Phuyal, head of the Election Office, mock voting was completed in Suryodaya and Mai municipalities, and Chulachuli, Maijogmai and Rong rural municipalities on Wednesday. 

Five of the 10 municipalities of the district will be given mock voting trainings on Thursday. 

Likewise, in Morang, mock voting in remaining16 local levels will begin from Thursday.

Ran Bahadur Rai, Mayor of Suryodaya Municipality, attended the first voting and taught the local voters to vote correctly in the sample voting programme organised at Fikkal. He said that everyone should vote correctly. 

Rajkumar Dahal, Election Officer of Ilam District Constituency No. 1, said that polling places and polling centers have been determined for the convenience of the voters while conducting mock voting.

According to Phuyal, there were no invalid votes in such votings. “Students, teachers and local participants will have to teach their families and neighbours after this programme,” he said. At the programme, the would-be voters were taught how to fold ballot papers, among other election-related things, he informed.

Pradip Chapangai, Deputy Mayor of Suryodaya Municipality, who was an election officer in the sample voting conducted in the municipality, said that although it was a mock voting, it bore all the hallmarks of real voting.

The office said that it would conduct a voter education programme over November 4-17. Women’s health workers will be sent to 81 wards with voter education materials.

There are 150 polling stations and 285 polling centres with 2,24,877 voters in Ilam district.