Miscellaneous
Voter registration pulling crowds
The Regional Election Office, Kathmandu sees large crowds of people every day to register their names for the upcoming provincial and federal parliamentary elections.Prithvi Man Shrestha
The Regional Election Office, Kathmandu sees large crowds of people every day to register their names for the upcoming provincial and federal parliamentary elections.
People waited in queue throughout the day on Tuesday to register their names. The success of the first and second phases of local elections appears to have motivated people to be listed in the voter roll.
Prakash Basnet, 20, from Gokulganga Rural Municipality, who arrived at the election office at 11.30am on Tuesday, was still in queue at 3.30pm waiting to register his name.
Failing to cast his vote during the local elections for missing from the voter list prompted him to enlist so that he could vote during the upcoming provincial and federal parliamentary elections.
With the Election Commission making arrangements for registering voters in the districts, most people from outside Kathmandu have reached the regional election office in the Capital. “About 90 percent of those who have come to register their names are from outside Kathmandu,” said Shanti Bogati, an election staffer mobilised to coordinate the registration process.
According to election officials, most of those who visited the election office to register their names are from Sindhupalchok, Dolakha, Bara, Parsa, Sarlahi, Morang and Jhapa. Around 1,200 names are recorded every day.
Regional Election Offices and District Election Offices have been updating voter lists since July 16. A special campaign will be launched from July 31 to August 16 in every local unit, as decided by the EC on July 18.
Rita Gurung of Jyamrung, Dhading, who is staying in Kathmandu, was at the election office in Babarmahal on Tuesday noon waiting to be registered as a voter. In her 15-member joint family, only her father-in-law could cast his vote as others did not have their names on the roll. “I didn’t know about the need to register to cast a vote,” she said.
Nitesh Malla, 29, from Ganabahal regretted his inability to vote during the May 14 local elections as none of the four members of his family was listed. “I ignored the registration process but I don’t want to miss this opportunity,” he said.
According to the EC, there is enthusiastic participation of people at the voter registration centres across the country. EC Spokesperson Surya Sharma remarked that the people were elated by the success of the local elections in six provinces.