The Election Commission has chosen AIT Private Limited, a Lalitpur-based Nepali company, to supply 30,000 ballot boxes for the upcoming local level elections scheduled for May 14.

After Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expre-ssed their inability to supply the ballot boxes citing time constraint, the election body on March 1 had invited tenders from interested suppliers to deliver ballot boxes made of plastic.

AIT has been selected as its quoted price of Rs106.8 million to supply ballot boxes and the security seals was the lowest among six bidders, said EC Spokesperson Surya Sharma. “We will now invite AIT for signing the agreement,” he said.

According to EC officials, AIT should deliver the ballot boxes and security seals within next month as per the terms set in the tender notice. Of the 85,000 ballot boxes required for the elections, the EC has 65,000 at its disposal.

Considering larger ballot papers in the local level polls, the EC plans to acquire new ballot boxes with the capacity of 80 litres. The existing ballot boxes have the capacity of 40 litres. 

Before the EC made the tender call for ballot boxes, at least three manufacturers including A Daga Steel and Industrial Corporation of India had approached the poll authority with interest to supply the ballot boxes.

The election body has since invited tenders for other election materials. On March 6, the EC issued a notice seeking suppliers for photocopy paper, packing materials, goods to be used in polling centres, hard drive, pen drive, swastika stamp, raw textile and torch light.

Likewise, the state-owned Janak Shiksha Samagri Kendra, which prints ballot papers, invited tenders on March 7 to procure materials for the printing of ballot papers.