Major Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu on Friday have prioritised concerns raised by the Election Commission and its Chief Ayodhee Prasad Yadav in the wake of various blasts targeting candidates contesting the second phase of provincial and parliamentary elections scheduled for next week. Other issues related to the polls including analysis of likely results of particular constituencies have also been prioritised in the front pages today.
Important
CEC’s call to tighten security
The Election Commission renewed its call to the government to tighten security arrangements for the polls on Thursday, Nepal Samacharpatra lead story says, adding the Commission has concluded that the second phase of polls scheduled for next week is certain to witness more security challenges than the first phase held earlier this week.
“It is necessary to create an environment in which votes can cast their ballots without any fear on December 7,” Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav has been quoted in the report, “Security of voters, candidates, poll staff and poll materials is very significant.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has identified likely movement of criminal rackets through the open border, unhealthy competition among political parties and incidents against ethnic and communal harmony as major security challenges to the polls, according to the report.
The Himalayan Times, Republica, The Kathmandu Post and Gorkhapatra have also published reports in the front pages about security concerns.
Meanwhile, the Commission says it has deployed ‘micro-monitors’, with an assignment to report violation of election code of conduct to the Commission immediately, in various districts for the polls, according to Rajdhani anchor story.
Yadav’s daughter-in-law’s candidacy likely to trigger controversy
It has been found that Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav’s daughter-in-law Pramila Kumar has been listed as a proportional representation candidate of the CPN-Maoist Centre for House of Representatives. Republica and Nagarik have published reports about the discovery in the front page as the issue is likely to trigger a fresh controversy.
Republica says Pramila Devi has been listed under the Madheshi quota.
Meanwhile, CEC Yadav clarifies that contesting the polls is solely Pramila Devi’s personal decision, arguing he should be dragged into any controversy. “My son and daughter-in-law have already separated from me and are settled in their own way. So, they are independent… It’s their personal choice.”
However, an election commissioner has commented that CEC Yadav should have publicly informed about his relative’s involvement in the polls; and his failure to do so might raise questions against his neutrality, reports Nagarik.
Ignored
New aircraft to be barred from domestic fleet for next two years
Citing that parking bays of airports have already exceeded the capacity, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is preparing to bar new airline companies and new aircraft from joining the domestic fleet for next two years, reports Karobar in its lead story.
Domestic parking bays at all airports across the country have a capacity to park 46 aircraft and as many aeroplanes are being operated now, the report informs. Earlier six months ago, the Authority has formed a three-member study committee under the leadership of Prem Nath Thakur to recommend solutions to the problem.
Meanwhile, the Authority is preparing to expand parking bays of various airports.
Over 11,000 died in road accidents in past six years
Nepal witnessed over 55,000 road accidents in past six years and total 11,834 persons lost their life to the accidents, reports Naya Patrika in its lead story. Though the government had adopted a policy to reduce the number of traffic accidents around five years ago, the number is ever increasing, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Meanwhile, the report blames the government’s failure to distribute driving licences on time as a major cause of the rise in the number of road accidents. The Department of Transport Management has registered around 2.8 million vehicles to operate in the country, but only around 2.5 million driving licences have been distributed so far.
Government fails to meet revenue target in first quadrimester
The government has failed to meet revenue collection target by Rs 3.88 billion in the first quadrimester of current fiscal year, The Himalayan Times reports. It says the failure to collect as much value-added tax as expected is the major reason behind the failure.
“Out of the total shortfall, the under-performance under VAT alone is Rs 1.81 billion,” the report reads, “The government collected Rs 197.87 billion against the target of Rs 201.75 billion between mid-July and mid-November.”
Interesting
All local governments have own websites now
All 753 local governments of the country now have their own websites and the federal government is preparing to launch mobile applications and knowledge management blogs for the local bodies, reports Naya Patrika.
Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, says the websites have been identically designed so that citizens can easily find information they seek. Likewise, the websites aim at increasing transparency and accountability of local governments, according to him.
