Over 24,000 new voters have been enrolled in 21 Mountain and Hill districts while the Election Commission is updating the voter list in the remaining 54 districts in the Hills and the Tarai.

The election authority, which initiated the first phase of update on November 11, will have to settle some issues before publishing the figures.

According to EC Secretary Gopinath Mainali, a total of 24,457 new voters were added in 18 of the 21 districts. Updates are yet to be received from Sidhupalchok, Dolakha and Solukhumbu districts.

In the first phase, the updating process was carried out in Taplejung, Solukhumbu, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Rasuwa, Dhading, Gorkha, Manang, Mustang, Baglung, Rukum, Jajarkot, Bajhang, Bajura, Darchula, Kalikot, Jumla, Humla, Dolpa and Mugu districts.

According to the EC, there has not been a heavy rise in the number of voters in the high Hill and Mountain districts. For example, only 315 voters were added in Rasuwa and 76 in Manang. There were 970 voter registration centres in the 21 districts while the task is ongoing in the remaining districts from 6,218 centres.

The EC plans to complete the works in 54 districts by January 28 while the claims and clearance process would be over by mid-February.

Those attaining 18 years of age by mid-October have been enrolled in view of the local elections planned to be held in April next year.

The constitutional body has been updating the voter list after a gap of three years. The last time the list was updated was in 2013, before the second Constituent Assembly elections.

The EC said there was hardly any obstruction in its work despite ongoing protests in some districts against the constitution amendment bill that proposes splitting Province 5.

“Due to prolonged strikes, some election offices have not opened in a few districts of Province 5. But no political party or group has obstructed our works so far,” said Surya Prasad Sharma, the EC spokesman. (PR)