BHAKTAPUR, MAY 4
Political parties in Bhaktapur district have been found violating the election code of conduct for the local election slated for May 13.
This information was shared at a media interaction organised here today jointly by the District Administration Office and the District Election Office.
"In one case, police were mobilised to stop the distribution of essentials by election campaigners in a bid to influence voters," shared Chief District Officer Rudra Devi Sharma on the occasion.
"Poll campaigners were found to be distributing blankets and flasks in Suryabinayak and Changunarayan municipalities in a bid to influence voters. Acting on a complaint, police were sent to the area immediately to intervene against the unethical act," she said, adding that some 20 award distribution programmes seeking permission were also prevented in view of the possibility of influencing the election. They have been asked to organise the programme after completion of the poll, she said.
Metropolitan Police Range Bhaktapur, Superintendent of Police Shiva Kumar Shrestha said major political parties were found to be violating the election code of conduct. He shared that election publicity materials displayed at 19 locations breaching the code of conduct were removed.
Representatives of the District Administration Office and the Election Officer said political parties in the district were found to be indulging against the code of conduct. They have been accused of trying to woo the electorates with gifts.
According to SP Shrestha, big political parties have defied the order to remove poll publicity materials placed in various areas in violation of the code of conduct. "Political parties are expected to contribute to the enforcement of the code of conduct, but the scenario is quite different here," he said.
Chief Judge of Bhaktapur District Court Gopal Prasad Banstola, who is also the Chief Election Officer in the district, said they were overwhelmed by election-related work as the number of employees deputed for election work this time around was half the figure compared to the last election.
Stating that employees have been working from 7:00am to 7:00pm on a daily basis, he said there was a dearth of employees to carry out monitoring.
"We have been carrying out indirect monitoring while inspecting this area. We have tried our level best to stop the code violation. The parties should voluntarily follow the code of conduct which they had prepared themselves. We request political parties, journalists and conscious citizens to provide us information about the violation of the election code of conduct. We will immediately stop such activities if it violates the code, " he said. He also vowed to take action if anyone was found guilty of the offence.
Banstola, however, claimed that there were negligible instances of code violation in Bhaktapur compared to Kathmandu.
He added that they were also trying their best to stop such violations.
The chief election officer informed that the work of installing CC cameras at vote counting stations was under way. Chief of the District Election Office Narendra Prasad Neupane had briefed the district-based journalists about the code of conduct.
On the occasion, President of Working Journalists Forum, Bhaktapur and RSS reporter Ramesh Giri called for facilitating news collection and managing vehicle passes for journalists and mediapersons on Election Day.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 05, 2022, of The Himalayan Times
