Rastriya Swatantra Party Alleges Booth Capture, Irregular Voting in Taplejung Polling Station

Taplejung. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Taplejung has drawn the attention of the Election Commission regarding alleged booth capture and unusually high voter turnout in Lingthep, Ward No. 4 of Miringden Rural Municipality. RSP's direct candidate, Birendra Shrestha, wrote a letter to the Chief Election Officer claiming rigging in that ward.

“In a context where the average voter turnout across Nepal is only 51 percent, the 88 percent turnout at the Lingthep polling center is unusual and suspicious, according to the RSP,” said Shrestha. The RSP has accused that illegal voting took place in the names of deceased individuals and those working abroad in that center.

“Booth capture was unilaterally carried out in Lingthep, resulting in 88 percent voting. Fake voting has also occurred in the names of deceased persons and those residing abroad,” the statement read. “In our assessment, approximately 37 percent of the votes cast there are fraudulent.”

The RSP has demanded verification of the voter roll and counterfoils of the ballot papers to confirm the fake voters. The party has also clarified that the RSP Taplejung will not participate in the vote counting process until the alleged rigging is investigated and confirmed.

The party expressed regret that its request for security and impartiality in Lingthep, citing potential booth capture, which was submitted during an all-party meeting before the election, was ignored. The RSP demanded an immediate appropriate resolution, stating that such actions, which curtail the sovereign rights of citizens, mock democracy.

However, the Election Office has started counting the votes. According to preliminary counting, the CPN candidate Khel Prasad Budhakshetri has taken the lead in Taplejung.