Counting Center Prepared in Khotang Ahead of Federal Parliament Elections

Khotang. The Office of the Chief Returning Officer in Khotang has prepared the vote counting center. After deploying staff, security personnel, and election police teams to the polling stations, the office has finalized the counting center in Diktel.

The Office of the Chief Returning Officer, established at the District Court Diktel, has utilized three rooms of the court building to set up the counting center, informed Assistant Returning Officer Ramchandra Mandal. He stated that one room will be used for storing ballot boxes, and the other two rooms will be used for counting votes.

Two rooms of the court have been partitioned (divided) with wire mesh for the vote counting process. Doors have been created in the wire mesh partition for staff movement in and out. The nationwide election for the House of Representatives is scheduled for this coming Falgun 21. The Office of the Chief Returning Officer has stated that ballot boxes will start arriving at the counting center on the evening of the election day.

In Khotang, which has only one constituency for the House of Representatives, 147,120 voters will cast their ballots in this election. Fifteen candidates, including 13 political parties and two independents, are contesting for the single seat in the district.

The candidates include Bir Kaji Rai from the Nepali Congress, Dev Bikram Rai from the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), Dr. Hari Roka from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Rudra Giri from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rakesh Rai from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), Deepak Tamang from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Sunil Chamling from the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Aren Rai from the Shram Sanskriti Party, Chandra Budhathoki ‘Shailesh’ from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Dhyanprasad Dhakal from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Miresh Rai from the Rastriya Parivartan Party, Prayag Rai from the Mongol National Organization Party, and Kesharman Chamling from the Miteri Party Nepal.

Additionally, Dr. Rajkumar Rai and Tilakchandra Rai have registered as independent candidates. For the upcoming election, 136 polling stations and 195 polling centers have been designated in the district.

Out of the designated polling stations in the district, 21 have been classified as highly sensitive, 64 as sensitive, and 51 as normal, with security arrangements made accordingly, informed Rekha Kandel, the Chief District Officer and Coordinator of the District Security Committee.

The Office of the Chief Returning Officer has announced that all preparations for the election in the district are complete. Rabin Magar, Chief of the District Election Office Khotang, stated that the staff and security personnel deployed to the polling centers have reached their respective locations with election materials and have already constructed the polling sites.