Illegal arms and ammunitions, cross-border crimes pose major security threats to the second phase of local elections scheduled to take place in 43 districts on June 28, according to security agencies.

Regional police chiefs said illegal small arms and activities of a few armed outfits across the border are major challenges in districts of Province 2. Security has been stepped up in the region after the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, an alliance of six Madhes-based political parties, announced protest programmes to disrupt the elections.

On Wednesday, police arrested two Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) cadres with improvised explosive devices from Rautahat. Dilip Thapa and Tara Thapa of Jhapa were arrested with 30 detonators and fuses. The duo were planning a bomb blast in the district to disrupt the upcoming elections, said chief of the Central Regional Police Office DIG Ganesh KC, adding that several people had already been arrested in the region over the past week for their involvement in anti-election activities.

“The CPN cadres are trying to terrorise the public and impact the voters’ turnout,” said DIG KC.

Police have already arrested 11 cadres of the CPN for running anti-election activities, including vandalism and threats to candidates in Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung of Province 1.

Possession of illegal small arms has been a major problem in the districts of Province 1, including Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari. And people’s reluctance to deposit the licensed weapon is another challenge facing the law enforcement agencies as the election date nears. The law requires the public to temporarily submit their arms to the concerned DAO for the specified period. The Arms and Ammunition Act-1962 states that all the licensed weapons must be surrendered temporarily before political parties start campaigns for the elections.

Monsoon fears

The Nepal Police Headquarters has asked security chiefs on the ground to identify major stations for each area for quick response during monsoon rains.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sarbendra Khanal said rainfall and harsh weather might cause difficulty in immediate deployment of security personnel in the event of clashes and vandalism in hill areas. “We have asked the district police offices to identify response stations in each district so that the security personnel can provide back up support for police on the ground when needed,” said SSP Khanal.

The government is planning to deploy over 150,000 security personnel for the second phase of local elections. Under the Home Ministry’s integrated security plan, a total of 39,980 police personnel will be deployed in the districts where they will be assisted by 48,896 temporary police and 26,250 Armed Police Force personnel. Besides, 47,000 Nepal Army personnel will be mobilised for the second phase of elections.

According to the election security plan, the Nepal Police will hold the command of the voting centres and booths, while the Armed Police Force will act as backup. The Army will be mobilised in the peripheral areas of the polling stations while the temporary police will manage queues of the voters.