KATHMANDU, MAY 18

The Election Commission has directed the bodies concerned to complete the task of vote counting within maximum of five days after its commencement.

It has also urged the stakeholders concerned to refrain from aggravating disputes by turning minor issues in vote counting into major ones, thereby creating problem and demanding recount of votes at a time when the final results of the vote count is about to be announced. It also asked stakeholders to refrain from seeking recount of votes in case of narrow margin of votes between candidates just when the counting is over and the results are to be announced, as these sorts of activities create obstructions in counting of votes in the stipulated time.

Issuing a press release today, EC's spokesperson and Joint-secretary Shaligram Sharma Poudel stated that in the context of the overall responsibility of conducting, overseeing, controlling and directing the elections at various levels lying in the hands of the Election Commission as per the constitution, and there being no confusion about this, the Commission's serious attention had been drawn to the news carried by some media with the intention of giving a differing meaning.

'The Election Commission urges one and all not to disseminate news likely to create confusion regarding the election system and process.

The Commission sincerely requests all not to disseminate or make others disseminate news creating distrust towards the Commission's dignity and the election process itself by making comments giving the opposite notion to the steps taken for completing the designated responsibilities on time,' the press release reads.

The Election Commission has likewise appealed to political parties, the election candidates, their representatives and the employees at various vote counting centres to internalise in a realistic manner everybody's wish that the vote counting is concluded at the designated time as far as possible and have it done in an expeditious manner in keeping with this aspiration.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 19, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.