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Voting Under Way in Nepal Municipal Election

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 00:00 CST

Excerpt from report by Nepalnews.com website on 8 February

Voting started in the municipal election today, amid tight security.

Unlike previous elections, there was no crowd in the pooling booths.

Altogether 1,480,238 voters will exercise their franchise in the elections to be held in 36 municipalities of 28 districts.

The government has made tight security arrangement for polling as the election is going to be held amid threats from Maoists to disrupt it and political parties call to actively boycott it.

People are casting votes from 8.00 a.m. [0215 gmt] and till 6.00 p.m. [1215 gmt]. According to Election Commission the vote counting will start from Wednesday [8 February] evening.

The government announced public holiday on Wednesday and banned the plying of vehicles in Kathmandu valley in the areas where polling stations are located.

Earlier, Home Minister Kamal Thapa has said that security personnel have been given the authority to take toughest action against anybody trying to bar the voters from going to the polling stations or any action aimed at disrupting the elections.

When asked by media persons if the security men have been given the authority to shoot those trying to disrupt the polls, minister Thapa's only reaction was, "Yes". [passage omitted]

According to the EC, the polls will elect 34 mayors, 25 deputy- mayors, 197 ward chairpersons, 291 ward members and 71 women ward members.

In some of municipalities, candidates of mayors, deputy mayors, Ward chairpersons, members and women members got elected unopposed. While in some other municipalities where no candidates filed their candidacies the EC would unveil election programmes for these places after 8 February. Twenty-two political parties out of the 72 registered ones at the EC are contesting the polls.

Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile

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