Nepal Deploys Joint Security Forces Ahead of Parliamentary Elections Under Integrated Security Plan 2082

Kathmandu. To ensure the upcoming House of Representatives election is conducted in a clean, independent, impartial, and fear-free environment, all four security agencies have been mobilized under the coordination of the Nepali Army starting today, in accordance with the Integrated Security Plan 2082.

The government has already approved and implemented the Integrated Security Plan for the House of Representatives Election, 2082, to strengthen peace and security during the election period.

With only one month remaining until the election, the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force Nepal, and the National Investigation Department have been mobilized jointly, in line with the plan to make security arrangements tight, robust, and effective for the election scheduled for Falgun 21.

As per the Integrated Security Plan, 'Election Police' recruited specifically for election purposes will also be deployed for election security. Nepal Police and Election Police will secure the inner perimeter of the polling stations. The Armed Police Force will take responsibility for the second layer of security, coordinating with the Nepali Army and Nepal Police.

The Nepali Army will hold the crucial responsibility of securing the outermost layer of the security cordon. The Army announced that it will be mobilized in all 165 constituencies starting Wednesday for election purposes.

President Ram Chandra Paudel granted approval for the mobilization of the Nepali Army for election security arrangements on Mangsir 11, based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the decision of the Council of Ministers.

Army Spokesperson and Brigadier General Rajaram Basnet informed that 'bases' for the Army will be established as needed, focusing on election security, and joint patrols will be conducted based on necessity.

The Army is preparing to mobilize 80,000 personnel for the elections. Army Spokesperson Basnet stated that since the Integrated Security Plan 2082 concerning the elections has been approved by the President, forces will be deployed accordingly.

The Army has been mobilized in the field one month prior to the election, as directed by the Integrated Security Plan. The Army will provide security in three phases during the election process.

The Army's primary responsibilities before the election include the printing of ballot papers, transportation of ballot papers, security of polling stations, transportation of ballot boxes, and security of counting centers.

In coordination and cooperation with the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force Nepal, the Nepali Army will be responsible for securing vital structures such as airports and prisons.

During voting, the Nepali Army will remain in the third layer at election sites and centers, providing full assurance of security to political parties, candidates, voters, and election staff.

A total of 3,406 candidates are competing in the upcoming elections. The Election Commission implemented the election code of conduct starting on Magh 4. For this election, there are 9,240,013 female voters, 9,663,358 male voters, and 200 other voters, totaling 18,903,689 eligible voters.

For the elections, 23,112 polling centers have been designated across 10,967 polling stations nationwide. Furthermore, 77,000 personnel from the Nepal Police will be mobilized for the elections.

Since the existing manpower of the Nepal Police is insufficient for election management, 133,000 'Election Police' have been recruited. Polling stations have been classified as highly sensitive, sensitive, and normal according to the constituency, and security arrangements have been made accordingly.

The police stated that 2,845 polling stations have been categorized as normal, 4,442 as sensitive, and 3,680 as highly sensitive. Security has been strengthened by deploying police personnel regularly according to these classifications.

The Armed Police Force will deploy a total of 49,686 personnel, including 34,576 regular members and 15,110 'Election Police'. The Armed Police Force stated that high alertness is being maintained to prevent any untoward incidents during the election period, and they are deployed in such a way that they can reach any incident site within 10 minutes under any circumstances.