Nominations for the third and final round of local elections were filed in all eight districts of Province 2 on Wednesday.

Voting is scheduled from 7am to 5pm on September 18.

Candidates were seen heading towards nomination filing centres with party supporters in all districts since morning.

In Birgunj, the only metropolitan city of Province 2, the Nepali Congress (NC) has fielded Ajaya Dwibedi and Shanti Karki for the mayoral and deputy mayoral posts. CPN-UML’s Basruddin Ansari  and Sophiya Acharya also filed their nominations. The CPN (Maoist Centre) has fielded Rahabar Ansari and Durga Chhetri for the two posts. Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal (SSF-N) and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) have fielded Bijaya Sarabagi and Rajeshman Singh respectively. Nepal Loktantrik Forum’s Bimal Shrivastav filed his nomination for the mayoral post.

“Until 7pm, 14 candidates, including independents, had filed their nominations for the post of Birgunj mayor,” said Chief Election Officer Bishnu Subedi, adding that the nomination filing would continue till late evening.

In Janakpur Sub-metropolis, Manoj Kumar Sah filed his candidacy for the mayoral post from the NC. The UML has fielded Laxmi Narayan Bhagat. Chandra Shekhar Sah, Lal Kishwor Sah and Bishnudev Sah of the Maoist Centre, RJP-N and SSF-N respectively are also vying for the Janakpur mayoral post.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Loktantrik) and Naya Shakti Party-Nepal also have fielded their candidates for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.

The NC and the Maoist Centre have forged an electoral alliance in Mithila Municipality, Dhanusha.

12 injured as NC activists clash

SIRAHA: Twelve Nepali Congress (NC) activists were injured when two factions of the party clashed in Siraha on Wednesday. The clash had erupted over ticket distribution for the September 18 local polls. Ten seriously injured  persons have been taken to Biratnagar, while two are receiving treatment at the district hospital, said police. Most of the victims had sustained injuries on their heads. A dispute over candidate selection for the mayoral post of Siraha Municipality had taken a nasty turn during a meeting held at the NC’s party office.

(With inputs from our local correspondents)

Overwhelming participation, says EC

The Election Commission (EC) has said there was “overwhelming” participation during Wednesday nomination filing for the last leg of local elections to be held on September 18 in Province 2.

Over 18,000 nominations were filed till 6:30pm, said the EC, for 6,727 posts in 136 local units of eight districts of Province 2. Though the EC had designated nomination filing time between 10am and 5pm, the deadline was extended for those who had already entered the election office premises by 5pm to file nominations.

After voting on September 18, local elections, first in 20 years, will conclude, electing representatives for all the 753 local bodies.

Elections for 13,556 people’s representatives in Provinces 3, 4 and 6 were held in the first phase on May 14 while the second round elected 15,038 local representatives in Provinces 1, 3 and 7 on June 28.

As many as 49,337 candidates were in the fray in the first phase while 62,240 nominations were filed for the second phase.

There are one metropolitan city, three sub-metropolitan cities, 73 municipalities and 59 rural municipalities in Province 2.

The agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, which did not take part in May 14 and June 28 polls, is also taking part in the final round of local elections.