7, 988, 570 people to cast votes in upcoming elections
The Election Commission said that 7, 988, 570 people will cast their votes across the country in the elections to the House of Representatives and Province Assembly slated for November 20. According to the list published by the Election Commission, of the total voters, 8, 847, 579 are men and 9, 140, 806 are women and 185 are others. There are 165 electoral constituencies for the federal parliament and 330 constituencies for provincial parliament across the country. The Election Commission said that Province 1 has 56 constituencies, Madhes Pradesh 64, Bagmati Province 66 and Gandaki Province 36. Likewise, Lumbini Province, Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province have 52, 24 and 32 constituencies respectively.
4,421,000 ballot papers printed
The Election Commission (EC) has so far printed 4,421,000 ballot papers under the first-past-the-post electoral system for the elections to the House of Representatives and the Province Assembly. The voting for the twin elections has been scheduled for November 20 in a single phase. Of the printed ballot papers, 2,138,000 are for the PA elections and remaining 2,256,000 for the HoR. The printing of ballot papers under the Proportional Representation (PR) has been already completed and presently the papers are being transported to the districts. Under the PR, 20,184,000 ballot papers are for the PA elections and 20,400,000 for the HoR. Currently, the printing is underway at the Janak Education Materials Center, Sanothimi amidst tight security arrangements.
Abide by standards of fair media coverage of elections, experts to journalists
Ahead of the elections scheduled for November 20, media experts have called on journalists to abide by ethical standards and give proper space to concerns of voters. “Free and fair election reporting contributes to public understanding. Hence, media persons must avoid partisan reporting,” said Chairperson of Media Action Nepal Laxman Datt Pant at a workshop organized in Butwal, Lumbini Province, on Saturday on fair media coverage of the upcoming elections. “Be it in the time of elections or during normal circumstances, the perennial mantra is accuracy, balance and credibility,” he said, adding that journalists should adhere to the standards of ethical reporting to promote inclusive content. Another speaker at the event, Editor of Annapurna Express Kamal Dev Bhattarai, noted that media have a role to question the authority to safeguard citizens' rights to vote. The upcoming elections is an opportunity for journalists to promote plural voice, he added. Similarly, Editor of Health TV Online Kalpana Acharya, another facilitator of the workshop, said journalists have a great role in making elections free, fair and inclusive. “For this to happen, there must not be any scope for media sensationalism.” A total of 25 journalists of Lumbini Province attended the workshop, the fifth in a series ahead of the federal and provincial elections organized by Media Action Nepal with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiative (CFLI). As the country is gearing up for the November 20 elections, the workshop is being held in all seven provinces with an aim at promoting ethical journalism and journalistic code of conduct as well as countering disinformation to promote free, plural and fair elections.
Prabhu Sah expelled from UML, Rauthat District Committee dissolved
CPN-UML Standing Committee member and Madhes Pradesh deputy in-charge Prabhu Sah, Rautahat district in-charge Upendra Sah and deputy in-charge Kundan Kushahawa have been expelled from the party. Issuing a statement, UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel said that they were expelled from the party for carrying out anti-party activities. Meanwhile, party deputy in-charge Uddhav Regmi has been given the responsibility of Rautahat district in-charge. Secretary General Pokhrel has requested Regmi to carry out the assigned responsibility successfully. On top of that, the Rautahat District Committee of the UML has been dissolved. UML Madhes Pradesh Committee Chairman Ram Awatar Yadav dissolved the Rautahar District Committee headed by Tribhuvan Sah.