Kathmandu, December 5

The Election Commission claimed today that results of parliamentary and provincial first-past-the-post elections would be announced within four days of starting vote counting.

The poll panel added that results of parliamentary and provincial proportional representation elections would be announced within eight days of completion of the second phase of elections.

Addressing a press meet at the EC’s media centre today, EC Commissioner Ishwori Prasad Paudel said counting for the first phase of elections would start after 5:00pm on December 7. The first phase of provincial and parliamentary elections were held on November 26 in 37 constituencies of

32 districts.

Paudel said counting of the second phase of elections would start once all ballot boxes of respective constituencies were brought to offices of chief returning officers or returning officers, as the case might be.

“Counting of votes of both parliamentary and provincial FPTP elections and both parliamentary and provincial PR elections can begin together,” said Paudel. He added that counting of FPTP elections would begin first if counting of votes of FPTP and PR elections could not begin at once.

According to Paudel, the EC will deploy employees in three shifts for counting and each team will count votes

for seven hours. The EC had directed officials concerned to start counting votes of parliamentary FPTP elections first if counting of parliamentary and provincial FPTP votes could not  begin at once. He said the EC had directed officials to deploy additional teams for counting in constituencies where the number of voters was high.

Paudel said the EC had made new arrangements learning from its experience from counting votes in local level elections. “We have directed officials concerned to ensure that representatives of political parties and candidates cannot touch ballot papers,” said Paudel.

He said EC officials had been directed to forge consensus on valid and invalid votes before counting votes and not to reach additional agreements in the middle of counting.

Paudel added that all arrangements regarding elections had been completed and voting officers and assistant voting officers had reached respective polling stations.