The Election Commission has recalled nearly 12,000 government staffers and volunteers mobilised in Province 2 for the local elections after the government deferred the polls there until September 18.

A day after the government postponed the polls citing the need to bring the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal on board the elections, the EC decided to roll back the election process in the province by closing the offices of the chief election officer and election officers until further notice.

The EC has also decided to discontinue with the voter education programme in the eight Tarai districts.

More than 3,500 volunteers mobilised to educate voters in the province have been asked to return home starting from June 19, according to the election authority.

The 119 offices of Election Officers opened in each local unit will be closed on June 21 while the eight offices of the chief election officers opened in the district headquarters will be shut on June 24.

“Staffers employed in the offices of the election officers have been asked to submit the materials to the District Election Offices and return to their original workplaces until further notice,” said EC Spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma.

The EC had deputed 11 staffers in each office of the chief election officer in eight districts and nine in each office of the election officer in 119 local units.

There are a total of 127 local units and 3,567 polling centres in province 2. Bara, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Parsa, Rautahat, Saptari, Sarlahi and Siraha are the districts forming the province.

The election officers were in the process of appointing over 7,000 polling officers 

and assistant polling officers who would be mobilised in each polling centre in the province. They were undergoing training.

Ballot papers, ballot boxes and other 62 types of materials need to be kept safely for the next three months.