Central Command Post formed for election security strategy and challenges

KATHMANDU: A meeting of the Central Security Committee has decided to form a Central Command Post under the convenorship of Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey for the upcoming House of Representatives (HoR) and Province Assembly election.

The meeting was chaired by Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand.

The decision to form the command post was taken after discussing the necessary security strategy for and the challenges that might come up in course of the November 20 HoR and provincial assembly elections.

The issues as election management, preparation, election security plan and security human resources mobilization were discussed in the Committee meeting held at the Home Ministry.

Home Ministry spokesperson Phanindra Mani Pokharel said that meeting also decided to constitute the Central Joint Election Cell under his convenorship.

Pokharel is the Chief of the Security and Coordination Division at the Home Ministry.

Also, the meeting has formed a ‘Home Ministry Election Cell’ under Joint Secretary Pokharel’s convenorship. Extensive discussions were also held in the meeting regarding the challenges that might come up in course of conducting the election and the ways to address and resolve them.

Likewise, a Province Coordination and Liaison Cell has been formed under the Ministry’s joint-secretary for establishing contact and coordination with every province.

The meeting also decided to form the Command Post and Province Election Cell at the provincial level and the District Command Post and the District Election Cell at the district level, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The Committee meeting has suggested that the Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department can form an organizational election cell at their central office, province office and district office as per the need.

Those attending the meeting were Home Secretary Pandey, Defence Secretary Kiran Raj Sharma, Nepali Army Lieutenant General Bal Krishna Karki, Nepal Police Inspector General Dheeraj Pratap Singh, Armed Police Force Inspector General Raju Aryal and Chief of NID Yadulal Kharel, among other officials.