KATHMANDU: More than 15 million ballot papers have been printed so far for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category of the House of Representatives (HoR) elections scheduled for March 5, according to the Election Commission (EC).
The printed ballot papers are for 175 electoral constituencies across 53 districts. The EC stated that ballots have been prepared for districts including Dolpa, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Humla, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Rukum West, Salyan, Surkhet, Bajura, Achham, Bajhang, Doti, Dadeldhura, Darchula, Baitadi, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Panchthar, Ilam, Tehrathum, Bhojpur, Okhaldhunga, Sunsari, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Khotang, Dhankuta, Baglung, Gulmi, Jhapa, Gorkha, Myagdi, Parbat, Bardghat Susta East (Nawalparasi), Morang, Udaypur, Mustang, Lamjung, Syangja and Bardiya, among others.
The Commission said the printed ballot papers have already been packed into 13,321 boxes. Printing has been ongoing since the morning of January 30.
At present, around 1,000 boxes of ballot papers are being packed daily, while printing continues at a rate of 1.3 million to 1.5 million ballot papers per day.
The EC needs to print a total of 20,323,000 ballot papers for the HoR direct election. Printing has been underway at the Janak Education Materials Centre in Sanothimi since January 6. In the first phase, 1,098,200 sample ballot papers were printed and distributed to various districts.
Meanwhile, under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system, 20,830,000 ballot papers have already been printed, packed and verified. These ballot papers are now ready for dispatch.
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