KATHMANDU, March 25: As the government and the political parties gear up for fresh elections, the Election Commission (EC) has intensified voters´ registration campaign with a view to update the voters llist by including those who were absent during the regular voter registration campaign.
EC officials have fanned out to villages in various districts with a view to cover the absent voters prior to conducting fresh polls by June third week. The Commission has been giving continuity to update voters´ name list with photographs and fingerprints along with other details.[break]
A team of officials from the district election office in Kaski started updating the voters´ name list with registering voters in nine remote villages. According to Ghanshyam Bhandari, chief of the district election office, separate teams comprising seven staffers in each group were deployed to Machhapuchhre, Lwanghalel, Ghandruk, Bhadaure-Tamagi, Parche, Bhachowk, Deurali, Aarbavijay and Bharapokhari VDCs.
"The officials will return to the district headquarters in Pokhara by April 20 after updating the voters´ list in all the 43 VDCs," Bhandari told Republica.
57 pc registration in Kaski
Officials said, the number of voters registered in Kaski so far has reached 57 percent of the total number registered during the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008. This is the highest percentage among the 16 districts in the western region of the country. The commission aims to register at least 60 percent of those who were registered in 2008. In the previous CA election, there were altogether 315,000 voters in Kaski district. This time, only 179,500 voters have been registered so far in the district.
In Kathmandu, officials said, only 39 percent of the previously registered voters have been covered so far.
The election officials have also simultaneously launched publicity campaign under the voters´ education program in villages.
Voters shrink by 7,000 in Gaur Municipality
In Gaur municipality of Rautahat district, 7,000 less voters were registered in comparison to the previous number. This time, only 14,500 voters have been registered in the municipality while 21,000 voters had been registered in 2008.
Election official Dhananjay Jha said that the decrease in voters´ numbers could be because a large number of youths are working abroad and there were repetition of names in the previous name list.
Decreasing trend in Dang
In Dang, at least 2,000 new voters have been registered during the latest campaign. "We have updated voters´ list in 14 VDCs and at least 2,000 new voters have been enrolled during this time," said Sheshmani Gautam, the election officer in the district.
Officials in the district estimated that the number of voters is going to decrease by around 100,000 in comparison to the previous elections. The officials made the calculation based on the trend of registration seen as of now. "As per the data of mid-December last year, the total number of voters in the district is around 215,321 while the number in the previous poll was 358,860," said Gautam.
He also said that one of the reasons behind the trend of decreasing number is the end of duplication and repetition of voters´ names in the present registration.
Numbers decrease by 50 pc in Baglung
In Baglung, locals are seen more enthusiastic to register themselves in the voter list as the local political parties have intensified election campaign in the recent days.
The election office in the district headquarters is always crowded with the people who want to register their names. "In the past, hardly 15 to 20 people used to visit the office per day for the purpose of voters´ registration but at least 50 people visit a day for the same purpose in the recent days," said an election office staffer, Narayan Niure.
Also, the district election office has mobilized 10 separate teams to various VDCs to update the voters´ list.
In the district, altogether 112,000 voters have been registered as of now. According to district election officer Tolaraj Upadhyaya, the number of voters´ registered in the latest process is around 50 percent less in comparison to the number registered during the polls in 2008.
"Altogether 236,000 voters were registered in 2008 but this number is going to decrease significantly as we are registering the names with photographs, fingerprints and other details and there is no possibility of duplication," said Updhaya.
Meanwhile, cadres of Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist have obstructed voters´ registration work at various places in Baglung district. According to Upadhaya, Maoists also seized some election materials from the staffers.
With inputs from Manoj Adhikari in Pokhara, Madan Thakur in Rautahat, Devendra Basnet in Dang and Dilip Paudel in Baglung.
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