Kathmandu, May 5

The Election Commission today said it would deploy undercover officials for micro monitoring of the local level elections scheduled to be held on May 14.

The election body said officials deployed for micro monitoring would even monitor activities of EC officials, government employees deployed on poll duty and poll observers.

“We will not disclose their names or physical description,” said EC Commissioner Ishwori Prasad Poudel, adding that the commission would deploy such officials as soon as possible.

He said undercover officials would be deployed in sensitive and the most sensitive areas designated by security agencies.

“Even employees can influence voters in favour of a particular party or a candidate,” said another EC Commissioner Sudhir Shah.  He said even EC’s officials and government employees deployed on poll duty could overlook poll code violation by certain groups and micro monitoring was needed to check such bias.

According to Shah, the EC has also directed its district-level mechanisms to strictly monitor poll code violation cases and take action as per election-related laws. He said cases of violation of poll code of conduct would increase as the parties and candidates had started door-to-door campaign and other polls related activities.

Former attorney general Hari Phuyal said the EC could deploy undercover officials for micro monitoring to ensure free, fair and impartial elections. “Mobilisation of undercover officials falls under EC’s jurisdiction,” he said, adding that EC had the right to decide who to mobilise for poll monitoring.

Apart from EC officials, independent poll observers will also monitor violation of election code of conduct. The EC has already deployed secretary- and joint-secretary-level officials in 34 districts that go to polls on May 14 to monitor cases of violation of code of conduct.

Meanwhile, the EC today published the final list of candidates and allotted election symbols to the parties and candidates. According to data published by the Joint Election Operation Centre established by the EC, 48,754 candidates will contest 13,556 posts in 283 local levels. Among them 1,943 are contesting for mayoral and chairpersons’ posts, 1,445 for deputy mayoral and deputy chairpersons’ posts; 10,960 candidates are contesting for ward chiefs’ posts and 18,684 for ward members’ posts; 9,139 women are contesting for women ward members’ posts and 7,583 women contestants are from Dalit women’s quota.

The EC said the highest numbers of candidates, 887, were contesting from Kathmandu Metropolitan City, while only 23 candidates, the lowest from any local level, were contesting from Narfu rural municipality of Manang.

In numbers

48,754: Total number of contestants for first phase of local level polls

13,556: Total number of posts up for grab

283: Number of local levels going to polls in first phase

887: Number of candidates contesting from Kathmandu Metropolitan City is the highest from any local level

23: Number of contestants from Narfu Rural Municipality of Manang is the lowest from any local level