PM Karki inspects ballot printing

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Feb. 6: Prime Minister Sushila Karki has been briefed on the progress of ballot printing for the upcoming general election.

Prime Minister Karki visited the printing press of Janak Education Materials Centre Limited in Sano Thimi, Bhaktapur, on Thursday to observe the printing process and receive updates on the ballot printing.

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anil Kumar Sinha, Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, and other Election Commission officials accompanied the Prime Minister.

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal announced that more robust security measures will be implemented than in previous elections to ensure a clean, fair, and fear-free voting environment.

He said that electoral constituencies have been categorised into three levels of sensitivity - highly sensitive, sensitive, and normal -- and security arrangements will be made accordingly.

He said that special security plans, including prior preparation, will be enforced in the highly sensitive and sensitive areas.

Minister Aryal also called on the public to have confidence that the elections will be held on the scheduled date, noting that political violence and conflict in the country have gone down and a peaceful electoral atmosphere is developing.

Recalling the severe crisis that affected the nation and its citizens on September 8 and 9, he emphasised that the current government is committed to ensuring the safety of the country and its people.

“We have divided the electoral constituencies into three categories. For highly sensitive and sensitive areas, we will proceed with prior preparation. This election will be conducted with stronger security measures than before," Minister Aryal said. "On September 8 and 9, our country and people faced a grave crisis. We have come a long way since then, and we are determined to prevent any insecurity. Political violence and conflict have been reduced, and the election environment is improving, so we have prepared accordingly.”

The Prime Minister has stated that not a single drop of blood will be shed in the elections, and we will make that our guiding principle. "Appropriate arrangements will also be made for movement and accommodation based on the weather at that time.”

Minister Aryal reiterated that the commitment to prevent any bloodshed in the elections, as expressed by the Prime Minister, will be the cornerstone of the upcoming electoral process.