Baitadi polling staff receive ballot boxes, essential materials

By Gokarna Dayal,Baitadi, Mar. 3: Election personnel in Baitadi district have been deployed to polling stations after receiving ballot boxes and 81 types of election materials for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5. 

According to the District Election Office, 129 polling stations with 215 polling centres have been established across 84 wards in the district’s 10 local levels. A total of 1,825 personnel, including 1,388 polling officials and support staff, along with 437 volunteers, have been mobilised, said Khagendra Bharati, an official at the District Election Office, Baitadi.

The Election Commission Nepal has dispatched 168,000 ballot papers for the first-past-the-post  (FPTP) system and 171,000 under the proportional representation (PR) system for the district. Altogether, 438 ballot boxes will be used for the voting process.

Election materials, including ballot papers, have been handed over to polling teams in line with the requirement that they reach polling centres at least 72 hours before voting begins.

There are 156,372 registered voters in Baitadi for the upcoming parliamentary election. The district has a single federal constituency, where 11 candidates, representing 10 political parties and one independent, are in the fray.

Polling stations up to 120km away 

Of the 129 polling stations in the district, 11 are located between 110km and 120km from the district headquarters. Chief District Officer Krishna Thapa said the Dhungad polling station in Sigas Rural Municipality lies 120 km away from the headquarters. The remaining 10 distant polling centres are situated in Sigas Rural Municipality and Purchaudi Municipality.

Thapa said adequate manpower has been mobilised to ensure that ballot boxes from remote polling stations are transported back to the district headquarters on the same day as voting concludes. All four security agencies have been mobilised in accordance with the decision of the District Security Committee to ensure a peaceful election.

Army begins motorcycle patrols

Likewise, the Nepali Army has launched motorcycle patrols in the urban areas of Baitadi as part of the election security plan. Major Pushpa Lama, commander of Shree Box Company based in Baitadi, said the army has set up base camps in all 10 local levels of the district to help ensure free, fair and fear-free voting.Troops stationed at the base camps are conducting patrols as required and coordinating joint operations with other security forces.

Chief District Officer Thapa said 2,700 security personnel have been deployed across the district for the election, with additional forces on standby if necessary.