BAJURA, MARCH 5
Voting for the House of Representatives election was conducted peacefully across Bajura district on Thursday, with voters participating in large numbers.
According to Chief District Officer Dorendra Niraula, the election concluded without any clashes or disputes at polling centres in the district. Preliminary data show that 44,773 voters cast their ballots out of the 87,861 registered voters.
Polling was held smoothly at all 77 polling locations and 118 polling centres in the district.
Officials said extensive security arrangements had been made considering Bajura's sensitivity during past elections. Personnel from the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and election police were deployed to maintain security.
Security monitoring included helicopter and drone surveillance, while CCTV cameras were installed at some polling centres, according to security officials.
Local residents expressed happiness at being able to vote freely in a fear-free environment, saying it was the first time since 1991 that they had been able to cast their votes independently.
Bajura has long been considered a high-risk district in terms of election security. In the 2022 federal and provincial elections, two people were killed in a clash at Triveni Municipality-7, while disputes and incidents of alleged fake voting were reported at more than 25 polling centres. In the same year, local elections in Budhiganga Municipality had to be held twice.
Local teacher Dambar Singh said Bajura had traditionally been known for election-related disputes, but this time the voting remained calm. He noted that clashes often occurred at the polling centre in Budhiganga-9, but the election there was conducted peacefully this year.
Chief Election Officer Sanjiv Pokharel said the election was conducted peacefully with the cooperation of political parties, security agencies, civil society members, journalists and election staff.
According to the District Election Office, Bajura has 87,861 registered voters, including 45,428 men, 42,431 women and two others.
Ahead of the election, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, Home Secretary Raj Kumar Shrestha, Inspector General of Nepal Police Dan Bahadur Karki, and Armed Police Force Chief Raju Aryal had visited the district to review security preparations.
