Election Commission Ramps Up Voter Education Programs Across Nepal Ahead of Polls

The Election Commission has announced that voter education programs aimed at informing the general public about the significance of suffrage and the voting process are currently underway in all 6,743 wards nationwide, as per the approved schedule.

During a press conference organized by the Commission on Friday, it was informed that one voter education volunteer has been deployed in each of the 6,743 wards across all 753 local levels from Falgun 3 to 17.

Commission Spokesperson Sita Pun Shrestha stated that the deployed volunteers are reaching the settlements and doorsteps of general voters to educate them about the importance of elections and the voting procedure using sample ballot papers.

For the purpose of the voter education program, the Commission has already completed orientation programs for the monitoring officers, who are the contact persons previously assigned to the local levels for voter education.

Election Materials and Ballots Reached Districts

The Election Commission has reached the final stages of preparation for the House of Representatives Election, 2082. Management activities are proceeding according to the schedule approved by the Commission and are being conducted on time. The printing of ballots for both the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system and the Proportional Representation (PR) system has been completed, and the process of sending them to the respective districts is ongoing.

Most of the election materials have already been delivered to the districts. According to the approved schedule, a special voter education program is continuously operating from Falgun 3 to 17 in 6,743 wards across 753 local levels. The central code of conduct monitoring committee and other mechanisms are actively performing their duties, ensuring continuity in monitoring and adherence to the election code of conduct.

Political parties began their main campaign activities for the election starting from Falgun 4. The Commission has already directed political parties and candidates to keep their campaigning civil and dignified, in compliance with prevailing laws and the code of conduct.

Campaigning Continues via 'Digital Platforms'

She also mentioned that the Voter Education Unit under the Commission's Election Information Dissemination and Coordination Center has approved 345 materials so far for providing election education, which have been posted on the Commission's official Facebook page, X, TikTok, and YouTube.

The Commission believes that such materials targeting voters, political parties, candidates, and stakeholders will enhance the integrity of the election, ensure citizens receive official and reliable information, and help mitigate the impact of false or misleading information. Assistant Spokesperson Shrestha stated that the Commission expects these materials to promote the voter education program and ensure that citizens and general stakeholders receive official information through digital platforms as well.

Dissemination of Interactive Messages

The Commission has started broadcasting interactive video messages, musical messages, short videos, and jingles produced by the Commission to promote the voter education program. Such materials are being broadcast on the Commission's official digital platforms.

The Commission expects that these message-oriented materials, which aim to inspire voters to participate, enhance election integrity, and encourage adherence to the election code of conduct, will play a role in increasing voter turnout and reducing the percentage of invalid votes.

Collaboration with Artists

To make the upcoming election campaign and voter education more effective, the Commission has held discussions with national artists, social media content creators, and influencers for collaboration. Accepting the Commission's request to support the 'great festival' of the election being held under specific circumstances, the participating artists have committed to disseminating messages on their digital platforms to deliver factual information to the general voters for promoting voter education, election integrity, and mitigating misinformation.

Ballots Being Delivered to Districts

It is widely known that the printing of ballots for both the FPTP and PR systems for the House of Representatives election has been completed. He stated that the printing and packing of 20.323 million ballots for the 165 constituencies across 77 districts under the FPTP system have been completed.

The transportation of ballots began from Karnali Province starting on Magh 29, and the transportation work has been completed in Sudurpaschim, Karnali, and Koshi Provinces. Transportation work is ongoing in other provinces. The Commission has stated that the transportation of all election materials except the ballots has been completed.

Regarding ballot printing, the printing for voter education purposes began at Janak Shiksha Samagri Kendra Limited, Sanothimi, on Poush 22, according to the schedule set by the Commission. Accordingly, 1,098,200 sample ballots were printed. The Commission stated that printing for the PR system ballots began on Poush 26 and the total required 20.83 million ballots were completed by Magh 13.