KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 10
Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya today issued several guidelines to polling officers to ensure that November 20 polls are conducted in an efficient manner.
He directed polling officers deployed for election duty to ensure that each ballot paper had their signature. Voters have to cast votes on four ballot papers - two under the provincial and parliamentary first-past-thepost election system and two under the proportional representation election system (one for the House of Representatives and another for respective provincial assemblies).
According to the Election Commission bulletin, CEC Thapaliya urged polling officers to properly verify the quantity and quality of election material before receiving them and to reach their stations on time.
He said polling officers would have to ensure that the 48-hour silence period before the election day was strictly followed and the sale of liquor was prohibited for three days before the country goes to poll.
Thapaliya urged polling officers to see to it that no voter was prevented from exercising their voting rights.
Thapaliya said the EC did not want repolling at any centre, unless forced by circumstances beyond human control.
"Even in case of any disturbance, the polling officers should try to defuse the situation and conduct the polls the same day after taking all stakeholders into confidence," Thapaliya said. He said polling officers should act against those trying to disrupt polls.
He said polling officers should ensure that swastika and stamp pad were in order as material fault could lead to invalid votes.
He said it was the duty of polling officers to ensure that voters leave polling station after casting votes. If anyone defies them, polling officers should seek assistance from security personnel deployed at polling centres. He said it fell on polling officers to ensure that no one voted more than once. He said anyone trying to vote again could be tried under the Election (Offence and Punishment) Act.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 11, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
