Kathmandu, November 13
More than 30,000 new voters were added in a single day as the Election Commission of Nepal began registering voters based on National Identity Card data.
According to the Election Commission, as of 8 pm Wednesday, the total number of new voters had reached 239,940, with 30,373 added that day alone. The deadline for voter registration is set for November 16 (Kartik 30). Officials said the number of new registrants has been steadily increasing as the deadline approaches.
From Thursday, the commission has started incorporating citizens into the voter list using details from the National Identity Card database. The new provision allows individuals with a National ID number especially those unable to visit election offices in person to register more conveniently.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said technical preparations and system testing were completed overnight on Wednesday to ensure a smooth launch of the new system.
Officials expect the integration of National ID data to accelerate the registration process in the remaining days before the deadline.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sushila Karki held discussions with top Election Commission officials regarding preparations for the upcoming elections. During the meeting, the commission briefed the Prime Minister about the plan to begin voter registration through the National ID system from Thursday.
Director General of theDepartment of National Id and Civil Registration, Namaraj Ghimire, also attended the meeting and expressed readiness to provide the biometric data collected during the distribution of National Identity Cards to the Election Commission for voter registration purposes.
