Nepal to Seal Borders 72 Hours Before Federal Parliament Elections

Kathmandu. The decision has been made to seal the border crossings ahead of the Federal Parliament elections scheduled for Falgun 21. A high-level election security committee meeting held at the Election Commission on Tuesday decided to seal the Nepal-India and Nepal-China borders 72 hours before voting begins.

A high-ranking official from the Election Commission who participated in the meeting told Ratopati that the decision was made to halt movement across the border 72 hours in advance.

The high-level election security committee meeting was attended by Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ramprasad Bhandari, Election Commission Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut, Nepal Police IGP Dan Bahadur Karki, Armed Police Force IGP Raju Aryal, the head of the National Investigation Department, and representatives from the Nepali Army.

Discussions were also held regarding a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages before voting. An official present at the meeting stated, 'There was a discussion about banning the sale of alcoholic beverages; the Commission will issue a notice specifying the time frame for this.'

The meeting also discussed the Holi festival falling on Falgun 19 and the Madhyamiki Parikrama Mela taking place in Janakpur. Tens of thousands of people walk from Sitamarhi, India, to reach the Janaki Temple in Janakpur and are scheduled to return on Falgun 18. Discussions were held on how to manage this tradition and the Holi festival. An official from the Commission present at the meeting said, 'Since the Holi festival falls during the silence period, discussions were held on how to manage it.'

There was also discussion about restricting vehicles with Indian number plates. However, the authority to decide how many days before voting foreign-plated vehicles will be restricted has been given to the Commission.

Challenges such as snowfall in the Himalayan districts and the risk of altitude sickness for security personnel and staff deployed for the elections were discussed. The official present at the meeting said, 'There was a discussion on how to transport election materials, including ballot boxes, to the Himalayan districts.'