National Human Rights Commission has said its serious attention has been drawn towards the situation in Chitwan’s Bharatpur Metropolis that resulted after ballot papers of local level election were torn during the counting of votes on Sunday.

In a statement on Thursday, the NHRC has said that all sides should respect the voters’ right to cast their ballot to their desired candidate while the right of candidates to become elected with maximum votes should be safeguarded.

“It is the duty of all political parties, candidates and their representatives to allow the election process to take place in a fair and impartial manner as per the spirit of constitution of the country and international declaration on human rights, citizen and political rights,” read the statement.

The constitutional rights body has sent a letter to Election Commission today underlining the need to become more vigilant to ensure that such events do not repeat in the future.

The NHRC has sought proper investigation into the matter and book the guilty as per existing legal provisions.