National
105 votes invalid, woman loses by 5
Sabara Siddika, a woman candidate of the Nepali Congress in Nepalgunj Sub-metropolis-2, was defeated in the second phase of local polls by five votes while 105 votes she garnered were declared invalid.Thakur Singh Tharu
Sabara Siddika, a woman candidate of the Nepali Congress in Nepalgunj Sub-metropolis-2, was defeated in the second phase of local polls by five votes while 105 votes she garnered were declared invalid.
As a result, Rastriya Prajatantra Party candidate Asha Bista became victorious in the ward member’s position. The NC believes that a majority of votes cast in the settlement of Muslim and Madhesi people were found to be invalid. The party said the number of void votes was high in the area as the people did not know how to stamp on the ballot properly.
Out of the 2,872 votes cast in Nepalgunj Sub-metropolis-4, as many as 499 were rejected. Regional Election Officer Basanta Raj Adhikari blamed inadequate voter education for the wasted votes.
Volunteers deployed by the Election Commission failed to reach Muslim women during their month long fasting. “Others who did not like to cast votes might have stamped haphazardly on the ballots,” said Adhikari.
According to the EC, 79 percent votes were cast in Banke. Election observers said around 10 percent votes turned out to be invalid in the district.
“People were unable to vote rightly as they were unaware of the election symbols and candidates,” said Advocate Suresh Kumar Gautam, an observer.