Necessary preparations ongoing for HoR elections: EC

KATHMANDU: The Election Commission (EC) has said that necessary preparations are underway for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5.

Speaking at a regular press conference in Kathmandu on Friday, EC Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said necessary preparations were ongoing for works ranging from printing sample ballot papers to implementing the election code of conduct. “We have already printed one million sample ballot papers—500,000 each for the first-past-the-post system and proportional representation system. The sample ballots are smaller than the actual ballot papers and carry different election symbols,” he added.

However, Bhattarai said the color of the sample ballots has been kept the same as the actual ballots to help voters practice voting.

He added that representatives of political parties were approaching the EC to align and submit proportional representation lists in accordance with the law.

“We have adopted a policy of promoting the positive use of social media for election campaigning and voter education, while regulating and controlling its negative use to ensure compliance with the election code of conduct,” he added.

Bhattarai added that social media platforms have expressed a commitment to cooperating in the election campaign, as in the past.