KATHMANDU, MAY 6
The Election Commission has urged the government to halt traffic movement within the country on May 13, the day local level polls are held across the country. In response to the EC’s letter, the government will ban the movement of all types of vehicles except emergency until the polling is over.
The EC has also written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting it to seal the international border crossings with India and China 48 hours before the polling day.
According to the poll panel, the decision to this effect was taken to hold elections in a free, fair, and fearless environment. It said the Government of Nepal would be required to seal all the international border crossings until the completion of polling, barring entry to all and sundry.
The poll panel has written to the MoHA, requesting it to impose a complete ban on the sale, distribution, or consumption of liquor throughout the country from the midnight of May 10 until the completion of polling in line with the Local Level Elections Directive-2022. It requires respective returning officers to publish a notice banning the sale and distribution of liquor with effect from the beginning of the silence period to the completion of voting.
The directive also empowers returning officers to deny entry to a drunk voter into the polling centre.
“If a voter comes to the polling centre under the influence of alcohol, the returning officer shall bar them from voting,” says Section 60 of the directive.
Anyone except security personnel carrying baton, spear, khukuri, rifle, pistol, or home-made weapon will not be allowed to enter polling centres and will be detained.
The directive also prohibits voters from carrying cameras, mobile phones, acid, lighters, or matches to polling centres.
According to the Election Commission, there are 17,733,723 eligible voters, including 8,992,010 men, 8,741,530 women, and 183 others.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 07, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.