'Election results will be announced within 24 hours of voting'

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Feb 24: The Election Commission has announced plans to publish the results of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) elections for the House of Representatives within 24 hours of the completion of voting.

The Commission has prepared to immediately collect ballot boxes after voting ends and to proceed with vote counting at a fast pace. 

In a conversation with News Agency Nepal, Officiating Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari stated that since this time only the House of Representatives election is being held, the results are not expected to take long.

According to him, while it may take one to two days to finalize the proportional representation results, the FPTP results will be announced within 24 hours after ballot boxes are collected.

Bhandari said that ballot papers have already been dispatched outside the Kathmandu Valley, and efforts are underway to deliver them to some locations in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur by Tuesday evening. 

Training for polling officers will also be completed by Tuesday evening, after which they will be deployed to their respective polling centers with the necessary materials.

He said that all essential arrangements for the election have been completed and the Commission has now entered the implementation phase. Complex logistical tasks—from ballot printing to transportation—have been finalized, and staff members have already been deployed to the field.

Regarding the establishment of temporary polling centers in Himalayan regions, Bhandari clarified that a decision is yet to be made. Considering geographical remoteness and adverse weather conditions, the Commission is committed to ensuring that voters are not deprived of their right to vote. “If necessary, we will decide to collect votes wherever the voters are,” he said.

The Acting Chief Commissioner also urged the public not to spread misinformation through social media ahead of the election. He warned political parties against engaging in politics of prohibition. “Only through fair competition can honest leadership be selected,” he said.

He further requested voters not to follow false news circulating on social media and to remove such content immediately.

The House of Representatives election is scheduled to be held on March 5 from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.