Election Commission Urges Voters Not to Mark Ballots for Disqualified Candidates Ahead of Polls

Kathmandu. The Election Commission has urged the general public not to cast votes for candidates whose nominations have been rejected in the voting scheduled for tomorrow, Falgun 21. The commission issued this warning considering the risk of voters being confused, as the symbols of some disqualified candidates will still remain on the ballot papers in certain constituencies.

Commission's Information Officer Suman Ghimire stated this on Wednesday during a press conference in Biratnagar. "After the ballot papers were printed, the candidacies of some candidates were canceled. Those symbols will remain on the ballot papers, but votes cast for such symbols will not be counted. They will automatically be counted as void or invalid," he said. The commission is disseminating information through election officers to alert voters in the concerned constituencies and has also urged political parties to inform their voters about this matter.

Ghimire stated that the commission is closely monitoring the situation as incidents of code of conduct violations have increased during the silence period. News has been emerging from various districts about the arrest of candidates and their representatives on allegations of distributing money, serving alcohol, and carrying explosives.

"Those who act against the code of conduct may face a fine of up to 100,000 rupees or even disqualification of candidacy," Ghimire said. "However, if the candidacy has not been legally canceled, arrested candidates can still contest and win the election, but the legal investigation against them will continue."

Concerns have been raised that the elections in the high-altitude hilly and Himalayan districts might be affected by cold weather and snowfall due to the winter season. Regarding this, Ghimire mentioned that the commission is continuously coordinating with the Meteorological Forecasting Division. "According to the reports so far, the weather appears to be normal. But, if voting becomes impossible due to natural disasters or heavy snowfall, the commission will make an immediate decision," he said. Staff and materials have already reached the polling stations in the Himalayan regions, and the commission expects an encouraging turnout despite adverse weather conditions.

The official claimed that the commission has provided special facilitation for differently-abled, elderly, pregnant, and disabled voters in this election. The hassle of obtaining vehicle passes to reach the polling centers has been removed for them. Such voters can take one helper and travel directly to the polling center by vehicle and can vote without standing in line. "The hassle of vehicle passes has been removed for vulnerable voters. They will be allowed to go directly to the polling center, and election officers have been instructed to arrange voting without queuing," he said.

Voting will take place tomorrow from 7 AM to 5 PM. The voter ID card is mandatory for voting. If the ID card is unavailable, the commission has arranged that voting can be done by showing any one of the official identification documents, such as citizenship certificate, passport, national identity card, driving license, or land ownership certificate, he stated.

The commission claims that vote counting will be significantly faster this time compared to the past because there are only two ballot papers and ballot boxes—one for the first-past-the-post system and one for the proportional representation system. According to Ghimire, immediately after voting concludes, the ballot boxes will be transported securely to the Chief Returning Officer's office, and counting will commence immediately after consensus from all parties.

The commission has once again appealed to all voters to mark their votes correctly and avoid disqualified symbols so that their vote is not wasted. "A single vote of yours determines the future of the country, so let's mark the vote correctly and prevent it from being invalidated," Ghimire said.