KATHMANDU: Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari has urged all eligible voters to participate enthusiastically and actively in the House of Representatives (HoR) elections.
Speaking at a press conference at the Election Commission Nepal on Wednesday, on the eve of the polls, Bhandari confirmed that all preparations for the elections have been completed and called upon voters to exercise their invaluable franchise.
He described the elections as a constitutional practice to renew democratic legitimacy and encouraged citizens to cast their votes.
In the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, 65 political parties are competing across 61 election symbols. A total of 3,406 candidates are contesting the FPTP seats, including 3,017 men, 388 women, and one other candidate.
Under the proportional representation (PR) system, 3,135 candidates are competing, including 1,363 men and 1,772 women. The elections cover 165 constituencies under FPTP and 110 seats under the PR system.
This year, there are 18,903,689 registered voters, including 9,663,358 men, 9,240,131 women, and 200 others. In addition, 186,142 temporary voters have been registered, the commission said.
For the polls, the Election Commission has set up 23,112 polling centres across 10,967 polling locations nationwide, including 143 temporary polling sites.
To ensure security, a total of 79,727 personnel from the Nepali Army, 75,797 from the Nepal Police, 34,567 from the Armed Police Force Nepal, 1,921 from the National Investigation Department, and 149,090 election police have been deployed, Bhandari said.
Around 215,000 election staff will be deployed nationwide. A total of 42,251,200 ballots have been printed for both FPTP and PR elections.
For this election, four international and 39 national organisations have been authorised to observe the voting process.
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