Up to 16% votes invalid in Karnali

SURKHET: Up to 16% of votes cast in the November 20 election in different districts of Karnali Province were declared invalid.

According to preliminary results, 8,318 votes have been declared invalid in Surkhet district alone.

“Out of a total of 154,811 votes cast in two House of Representatives constituencies in Surkhet, about 5.37% were invalid,” said Durga Prasad Chalise, chief of Karnali Province Election Office, said.

Though the percentage of invalid votes is lower compared to the 2017 election, the high number of invalid votes shows voter education program didn’t become much effective.

About 2,000 votes were invalid in Dolpa. Of the 19,837 votes cast in Dolpa, 1999, or about 11%, were invalid.

Similarly, about 11% of votes were declared invalid in Jajarkot district. “About 4-11% of votes were invalid in all polling centers of Jajarkot,” Nabin Katyahat, officiating chief of the District Election Office, Jajarkot, said.