KATHMANDU: With just 19 days remaining until the House of Representatives (HoR) elections on March 5, the printing of ballot papers has entered its final phase. According to the Election Commission (EC), ballots for only 14 districts, mainly around the Kathmandu Valley, are yet to be printed.
Ballot printing is being carried out at the Janak Education Materials Centre in Bhaktapur. The Commission stated that ballot papers for 133 constituencies across 63 districts have already been printed.
So far, 17.163 million ballot papers have been printed, informed Assistant Spokesperson Prakash Neupane. Printing has been completed for districts including Dolpa, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Humla, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Rukum (West), Salyan, Surkhet, Bajura, Achham, Bajhang, Doti and Dadeldhura.
Similarly, ballot papers have been printed for Darchula, Baitadi, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Panchthar, Ilam, Tehrathum, Bhojpur, Okhaldhunga, Sunsari, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Khotang, Dhankuta, Baglung, Gulmi, Jhapa, Gorkha, Myagdi, Parbat, Bardaghat Susta West (Nawalparasi) and Morang.
Printing has also been completed for districts including Udayapur, Mustang, Lamjung, Tanahun, Syangja, Bardiya, Rukum East, Dang, Banke, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East), Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Pyuthan, Rupandehi, Rolpa, Manang, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk, Kaski, Kapilvastu, Dolakha, Nuwakot and Kavrepalanchowk.
Neupane said the remaining ballot papers are expected to be printed within the next three days. Ballots already printed have been packed for dispatch. So far, 15,371 boxes of ballot papers have been packed. Currently, around 1,000 boxes are being packed daily, while between 1.1 million and 1.5 million ballot papers are being printed each day.
In the first phase, 1,098,200 sample ballot papers were printed and distributed to various districts. In the second phase, 20.83 million ballot papers are being printed and prepared for transportation, including verification and packaging. The Commission stated that 20.323 million ballot papers are required for the direct election system.
The Commission has also begun dispatching printed ballot papers to 12 constituencies in 10 districts of Karnali Province from today. These districts include Salyan, Rukum West, Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Kalikot, Jumla, Jajarkot, Dailekh and Surkhet, Neupane added.
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