The vote counting venue in Bharatpur Metropolitan City.
Bharatpur, May 29
Supporters of the ruling CPN Maoist (Centre) have demanded re-polling in Bharatpur, a day after ballot papers were forcefully torn during the counting process of votes cast during the May 14 local elections.
The UML said that the torn ballot papers should be kept aside and counting should resume at the earliest. It also added that the incident happened because of the carelessness of the local administration.
The UML’s Chitwan chief Krishna Bhakta Pokharel organised a press conference in Bharatpur early on Monday morning, claiming that he had warned local authorities that the Maoists had something up their sleeves to disrupt the count. “The incident happened because the administration did not heed our warning,” he said.
But, Maoist candidate for Mayor Renu Dahal’s uncle and representative Narayan Dahal told Onlinekhabar,”We already had a lead of 90 votes when the incident happened. The UML saw that we were going to win and that is why it tore the papers. Now, there should be re-election in Ward 19.” The party’s Chitwan leadership issued a statement in the afternoon blaming the UML for trying obstruct the counting process because Dahal was set to lead the race.
The UML says it cannot accept re-polling.
The Election Commission is in consultation with all stakeholders to resolve the issue. It hasn’t publicly commented on the incident. Chief returning officer Keshav Prasad Neupane said a report will be sent to the centre and a meeting of the commissioners will decide what is to be done.
The UML’s mayoral candidate Devi Prasad Gyawali was 755 votes ahead of the Maoist Centre’s candidate Renu Dahal when counting was discontinued.
