The country is holding the final phase of provincial and federal parliamentary elections on Thursday. The Election Commission has already announced that preparations for the voting have been over. In this context, major stories published in the front pages of major Nepali and English dailies in Kathmandu are about the polls. The elections have overshadowed other political, socio-cultural and economic issues.
Important
All poll results in eight days
The Election Commission has announced that it will announce final results of voting in all constituencies within eight days. The target set by the constitutional body seems quite ambitious in comparison with the pace of vote counting in previous elections; therefore major newspapers have published the announcement with priority.
Quoting Election Commissioner Ishwari Prasad Paudyal, Gorkhapatra says the vote counting will begin at 5 pm on Thursday. The Commission has directed poll officials to begin counting of first-past-the-post and proportional representation votes simultaneously. However, the officials can decide other models of prioritisation if there is lack of space or human resources for voting.
Kantipur says the Commission aims to announce FPTP results within four days and PR results in next four days. According to The Himalayan Times, results from the districts which already held voting last week in the first phase are likely to come out earlier as the counting in these districts will begin exactly at 5 pm tomorrow whereas other districts which will hold voting tomorrow have to wait till the arrival of ballot boxes to the district headquarters.
Security beefed up ahead of polls
Eyeing the elections scheduled for tomorrow, security agencies have increased security checks and mobilisation of personnel. Nepal Samacharpatra reports that security agencies have created a three-tier mechanism for the security of voting centres, candidates and voters. According to the report, 64,020 personnel from Nepali Army, 68,678 from Nepal Police and 42,091 from Armed Police Force would be mobilised for the polls.
Helicopters of Nepali Army will be used for patrols and needful rescue operations, according to Rajdhani. Quoting Army spokesperson Nainraj Dahal, the report says around 36,000 army personnel will be mobilised whereas others have been kept on standby for emergency operations.
Meanwhile, authorities have taken preemptive measures to discourage unnecessary movements of people from the districts which held the polls in the first phase to other districts which will hold the polls tomorrow so as to influence voting, reports Republica.
Ignored
Govt likely to fix provincial capitals on Monday
Naya Patrika lead story says the government is likely to announce temporary provincial capitals and chiefs of provinces by Monday. The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has already prepared proposals and they will be endorsed by the next Cabinet meeting, the report quotes a source. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has called the next Cabinet meeting for Monday.
The provincial chiefs will act as representatives of the President to the provinces and administer the oath of chief ministers of the state governments, according to the constitution.
Donations cover most of poll expenses for parties
Most candidates of major political parties contesting provincial and federal parliamentary elections have covered their campaigning expenses with donations they individually collected from traders and businesspersons, reports Annapurna Post in its lead story for the day. In addition, the big parties have also collected donations, but that is too little to run campaigning.
The report says the Nepali Congress has collected Rs 10 million, CPN-UML Rs 20 million and CPN-Maoist Centre Rs 30 million.
TRC objects to Badarmudhe reparation deal
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a transitional justice mechanism, has taken serious exception to a deal signed by CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and some victims of the 2005 Badarmudhe bus ambush, claiming the agreement undermined the jurisdiction of the TRC, reports The Kathmandu Post.
On June 6, 2005, then Maoist rebels had ambushed a passenger bus in the village of Chitwan district, killing 38 persons and injuring 72 others, the report informs, adding it is considered the worst attack against civilians during Nepal’s civil war.
Interesting
Farmers get grant to take care of ‘lactating’ cattle
The government has begun distributing allowances to farmers to let them take care of their cattle which are lactating, Naya Patrika anchor story says. Rs 10 million has already been handed over to local governments of 40 districts to distribute among around 4,000 farmers, according to the report.
To get such facility, the farmers have to insure their cattle, according to government officials.
Govt to launch feasibility studies to construct five tunnel roads
The government is planning to carry out feasibility studies in five major places of the country to construct tunnel roads soon, according to a story in Abhiyan.
The routes include Kulekhani-Bhimphedi, Purkot-Sindhuli, Pokhara-Hemja-Nayapul, Charikot-Lapchagaun and Narayangadh-Daunne. The Department of Roads says total 24 kilometres will be covered in the study. It has been estimated that carrying out the study will cost Rs 8 to 9 million per kilometer.
Mountaineering regulation revision in the offing
The Nepal government is preparing to amend the country’s mountaineering regulation so as to ensure that sirdars, mountain guides and high-altitude workers who accompany expeditions to the top of climbing peaks will also get summit certificates, reports The Himalayan Times in its anchor story.
Besides other major provisions, the amended regulation will bar double amputees and those with complete blindness from climbing mountains whereas solo attempts on the Mount Everest will also be forbidden.
