Nepal Classifies 10,967 Polling Stations for Upcoming House of Representatives Election Based on Security Risk
Kathmandu. A total of 10,967 polling stations have been designated for the House of Representatives election to be held on Falgun 21. The polling stations have been classified into three categories from a security perspective. Polling stations in areas with no security challenges have been classified as 'Normal'. Across the country, 2,845 polling stations have been placed in the Normal category.
Based on the recommendation of the District Security Committee, the Ministry of Home Affairs has classified 4,442 polling stations as 'Sensitive'. Of the total polling stations, 3,680 have been classified as 'Highly Sensitive', Police Spokesperson (DIG) Abinaryan Kafle told Ratopati.
Only 12 polling stations in the Kathmandu Valley have been classified as Highly Sensitive. Twelve polling stations in Lalitpur have been designated as Highly Sensitive polling stations, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Home Affairs told Ratopati. 'There are no Highly Sensitive polling stations in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur,' he said.
In Lalitpur, polling stations in geographically remote areas have been classified as Highly Sensitive. Geographical remoteness and past incidents were also analyzed when classifying stations as Sensitive and Highly Sensitive.
Madhesh Province has the highest number of Highly Sensitive polling stations. 1,246 polling stations in 8 districts of Madhesh have been placed on the Highly Sensitive list. 462 polling stations in Lumbini Province and 481 in Sudurpaschim have been placed on the Highly Sensitive list.
List of Polling Stations Based on Sensitivity
In Koshi Province, 439 polling stations are on the Highly Sensitive list. In 10 districts of Bagmati Province, 354 polling stations are on the Highly Sensitive list. 328 polling stations in Gandaki Province are Highly Sensitive. 358 polling stations in Karnali Province have been placed on the Highly Sensitive list.
Highly Sensitive polling stations are considered challenging from a security standpoint. More security personnel are deployed at such locations than elsewhere. At Highly Sensitive sites, 3 police officers and 10 election police will be deployed, a high-ranking police official told Ratopati. The official stated, 'If there are additional polling centers, 2 police officers and 4 election police will be added.'
According to the Integrated Security Plan, if there is only one center at a Highly Sensitive polling station, 3 police and 10 election police will be stationed. If there are additional centers at the same location, the Integrated Security Plan is implemented with 2 Nepal Police and 4 election police deployed per additional center.
3 police officers and 6 election police will be deployed at Sensitive polling stations. Furthermore, in locations with additional centers, 2 Nepal Police and 4 election police will be additionally deployed per additional center.
DIG Kafle stated that 3 police officers and 5 election police will be deployed at Normal polling stations. He said, 'The number of security personnel increases according to additional centers.'
At locations with additional centers, 2 police officers and 4 election police will secure the polling station for the duration of the voting. According to the Integrated Security Plan, if a Normal polling station has only two voting centers, 4 Nepal Police and 9 election police will be deployed.
Police and Election Police in the Inner Perimeter
Nepal Police and Election Police will be stationed in the inner perimeter of the polling stations. According to the Integrated Security Plan, the security cordon for polling stations and voting centers will have three layers. The Armed Police Force will be deployed in the second layer, and the Army in the third layer.
73,000 police personnel will be mobilized for election security. 31,000 security personnel from the Armed Police Force will be deployed in the second layer. According to the Integrated Election Security Plan, 79,000 army personnel will be deployed for the election. 2,000 security personnel from the National Investigation Department will be mobilized for intelligence gathering during the election, a high-ranking official from the National Investigation Department told Ratopati.
As per the Integrated Security Plan approved by the Central Security Committee, a total of 315,000 security personnel, including election police, will be mobilized for the security of polling stations and voting centers.
The Police are currently recruiting and selecting 133,980 election police. The Armed Police Force is recruiting and selecting 15,110 election police.
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This specific news has been automatically translated by AI. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies or language errors.
