Kathmandu, June 19

The Election Commission today urged all political parties, candidates, voters and civil society members to maintain restraint.

The poll panel’s appeal came a day after a CPN-UML cadre was killed in a clash with Nepali Congress supporters in the western hill district of Bajura.

The EC office bearers discussed issues related to poll security today.

Election Commissioner Narendra Dahal said that the meeting directed the government to ensure effective security measures to prevent violence.

The EC also urged all stakeholders to maintain social harmony and peace during election campaigning, said Dahal.

The EC told the government to prevent any untoward incident that could adversely affect the phase II polls slated for June 28.

The poll panel also deplored incidents of violence in Bajura and Kapilvastu.

Hansa Bahadur Rawat, a CPN-UML cadre, was killed in a clash with Nepali Congress activists in Dogadi of Chhededaha Rural Municipality in Bajura yesterday.

Ten people were injured when a bomb went off along the postal-way in Badganga Municipality of Kapilvastu district yesterday.

“Such unfortunate incidents should not be repeated in future,” said EC spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma. He said that the EC had speeded up poll monitoring in all 334 local levels of 33 districts of provinces 1, 5 and 7 where the second phase of local level polls are scheduled for June 28.

The EC said that 15,038 representatives would be elected in the second phase of elections by 6,432,765 eligible voters of those provinces.

Meanwhile, the EC has decided to write to the Ministry of Home Affairs to make Election Day a holiday in provinces 1, 5 and 7.

Similarly, the Election Commission has also decided to write to the Ministry of Education to announce   holiday in schools from June 25 to June 28, as most of the polling centres would be set up in educational institutions.