All Preparations Complete for National Assembly Elections in Gandaki Province

Pokhara. All preparations have been completed for the National Assembly elections in Gandaki Province. According to Narayan Dhakal, Chief of the Provincial Election Office, voting will take place from 2 polling centers. A separate polling center has been designated for Provincial Assembly members, and another for local level representatives. In Gandaki, 59 assembly members and 169 local level representatives will cast their votes.

One seat for a Provincial Assembly member and one for a local level representative have become vacant. Provincial Assembly member Deepak Manange alias Rajiv Gurung is suspended due to serving a sentence in a homicide case. Khim Bahadur Thapa, the chairperson of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality in Syangja, vacated his post after contesting for a seat in the House of Representatives.

There is an alliance between the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML across the country. The Nepali Congress has nominated Jagat Timilsina for the open category, and CPN-UML has nominated Samjhana Devkota for the women's quota.  

In Gandaki, the two parties combined hold more than a two-thirds majority in terms of vote weight. The Nepali Congress has 27 assembly members, whose vote weight amounts to 1,431. Among the elected chiefs and deputy chiefs from the local level, 66 are from the Nepali Congress, contributing a vote weight of 1,252. CPN-UML, with 22 assembly members, has a vote weight of 1,166 in the Provincial Assembly, and its 69 local level representatives account for a vote weight of 1,311.

The combined vote weight of both parties reaches 5,162, which is more than a two-thirds majority. In Gandaki, the CPN (Maoist Centre) has 7 assembly members and 30 local level representatives, whose total vote weight is only 941. Rastriya Janamorcha, which won 4 seats at the local level, has a vote weight of 76. RPP has a vote weight of 106; it has two members in the Provincial Assembly but has announced it will not participate in the election. The Pragatisheel Democratic Party also has one assembly member, with a vote weight of 53; this member has not publicly aligned with any faction.

The vote weight for a Provincial Assembly member is 53, and for a local level chief or deputy chief, it is 19. In the women's cluster, Goma Ghimire from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and Laxmi Baskota from Rastriya Janamorcha are candidates. In the open category, the CPN (Maoist Centre) has nominated Kapil Lama, and Janamorcha has nominated Shankar Baral. Two seats in the National Assembly from Gandaki Province will become vacant starting on Falgun 20. Narayan Kaji Shrestha (Open Category) and Bhagwati Neupane (Women's Open Category) are completing their six-year terms and retiring.

“All election preparations are complete. The staff are ready,” Dhakal stated. “Voting will take place from 9 AM to 3 PM. Counting will begin immediately afterward.” According to him, preparations are underway to announce the results by 4 PM.