In an official press release on December 12, 2017, the agencies lauded political parties, voters and citizens for their successful participation in the parliamentary and provincial elections held on November 26, 2017 and December 7, 2017, respectively.

The presence and participation of senior citizens, women, as well as differently-able people were equally encouraging, read an official statement.

The election observation body comprises of General Election Observation Committee (GEOC), National Election Observation Committee (NOEC) and Inclusive Women Network for Peace, Justice and Democracy (Sankalp).

Observation Teams Across Polling Centers

All the observation teams contributed their best to the fair conduction of electoral process.

While NEOC deployed a total of 3,743 trained observers, Sankalp had set up 910 observers followed by GEOC (800 observers) in both the first and second phase of elections.

Besides, these teams also deployed mobile observer and election expert teams across the sensitive polling centers to ensure free and fair electoral process.

In addition to these, NEOC had alsomobilized 165 long-term observers for data-based observation of both the election phases.

Besides deploying teams across the districts, the observation body had also set up call centers to avoid discrepancies in the polling process.

EC Promises Met 

On the flip side, the elections also reported violation of election code of conduct despite strict arrangements by EC.

“In many places use of pamphlets and campaign materials were found to be in violation of the code of conduct.  Data received from NEOC Call Center state that in 82 polling centers observed campaign materials were found within the 300-meter perimeter of the polling centers. Moreover, there were activities aimed at influencing voters outside 12 polling centers,” read a statement.

Overall, 99.60 percent (1307) of the polling centers had a minimum 6-member staff as promised by EC, 99.20 percent (1301) had clearly-marked ballot boxes, 0.40 percent (5) centers reported lack of necessary election material and 0.50 percent (6 centers) saw confidentiality failure, informed the observers.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: Successful Participation of Citizens, Parties and Voters Observed appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The two-phase Nepal’s parliamentary and provincial elections 2017 was a three-way fight among the democratic alliance led by the ruling Nepali Congress party, the Madhes-based parties’ alliance called Rastriya Janata Party and the leftist alliance of CPN-UML and Maoist Center parties.

The counting results of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election of the Provincial Assemblies and House of Representatives of 16 districts, released on December 10, 2017, have shown victory for the communist alliance in 70 federal and 134 provincial constituencies with leading positions across 11 other federal and 20 provincial constituencies, so far.

Whereas, the ruling Nepali Congress has so far won 15 federal constituencies continuing the lead in another seven constituencies.

Meanwhile, the Madhes-based alliance registered 11 seats under the FPTP system.

According to the Election Commission, the FPTP electoral process saw election of 98 out of the total 1944 contestants.

74 of 165 parliamentary constituencies and 161 of 333 assembly constituencies have been covered with the FPTP results on December 10, 2017, informed EC.

New Laws for First Assembly Session

Meanwhile, EC has called for framing of new laws for the formation of the National Assembly.

“We are not able to begin the process of electing National Assembly members without laws governing elections of NA members. We want new laws to be framed as soon as possible,” EC Spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal said on December 10, 2017.

Article 93 of the Nepali Constitution requires the first meeting of the Parliament and the National Assembly within 30 days of the announcement of parliamentary poll results.

Meanwhile, Bheshraj Adhikari, Personal Secretary of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari informed that “The National Assembly Election Ordinance is being considered by the President. She will take a call on this as soon as possible.”

The National Assembly Members Election Bill is currently under scrutiny following a difference between the ruling Nepali Congress and the communist parties of CPN-UML and Maoist Centre on the contents of the bill.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: Left Alliance Leading the Way appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Post the completion of first phase polls with 65 percent voter turnout on November 26, 2017, Nepal went on for the final phase of its most-awaited parliamentary and provincial polls across 15,344 polling centers in 45 districts.

A total of 4,482 candidates including 1,663 candidates for 128 parliamentary seats and 2,819 for 256 provincial assembly seats contested in the final phase that has involved around 12.1 million eligible voters, nearly 80% of the Nepali population.

This is the first election conducted for Nepali Parliament and Provincial Assembly after the new constitution was promulgated in 2015.

Public Response

All sections of Nepali society eagerly participated in Nepal’s 2017 provincial and parliamentary elections.

“I am voting after many years because there is new hope in the country with the establishment of provinces,” said Iswor Prasad Shrestha (70), a Nepali businessman.

Kedar Sharan Raya, a retired senior lawyer, said, “I am here to vote today because it is the first election for provinces with the hope these provincial governments will be able to deliver development.”

Election observers from foreign countries did not report any discrepancies in the electoral process.

It’s Counting Time!

The Election Commission (EC) of Nepal has promised to complete the vote counting process within two weeks from the day of election conclusion.

“Counting of votes of both parliamentary and provincial FPTP elections and both parliamentary and provincial Proportional Representation (PR) elections can begin together. We are confident that the counting could be completed, if there is no obstacle or setback within the set deadline,” says the Election Commissioner Ishwori Prasad Poudel.

 “Vote counting should be done at the earliest. Therefore, we have issued orders from center to all the vote counting centers,” reads a statement by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav, who said the First-Past-The-Post (FTFP) voting will be out in a week from the date of completion of election.

The post Nepal General Election 2017: Voting Concludes, Now It’s Counting Time appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

A total of 4,482 candidates are competing in this phase that is being held at 15,344 polling centers across 45 districts of the country.

The first phase, held on November 26, 2017, was held across 32 districts.

While the first round saw around 65 percent voter participation, the Nepal Election Commission (EC) expects the second phase polls to register more than 70 percent turnout with over 12.2 million voters exercising their vote.

The completion of this First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election will result in formation of Federal Parliament at the Center and Provincial Assemblies across seven provinces of the country as planned in the new constitution in 2015.

The counting process will also begin the same day in the evening.

A Worth-waiting Election

The world governments, especially the bordering nations, are eagerly watching this landmark election of Nepal.

“I think the party I feel like voting [for] is popular because it strongly claims Nepal as a nation that is capable of bringing those golden days of Nepal back, where Nepal stood economically, socially and politically strong without aid dependency,” says Lawyer Jyoti Singh Bhandari.

“The Election Commission calls on all eligible voters to take part in the elections to convey a strong message to those who are against the implementation of the constitution as well as political stability in the country,” reads a statement by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav.

While Nepal has saw a governmental transition 26 times in the past 28 years, many hope this election would end long-standing political turmoil and open ways for new Nepali constitution, while also bringing in needed development across the country.

The post Nepal General Election 2017: Final Phase of Landmark Polls Across 45 Districts appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The first phase of Nepal general elections 2017 was held in 32 hill and mountain districts of six provinces across the country.

According to the Election Commission (EC) of Nepal, the first phase of parliamentary and provincial elections elections saw a 65 percent voter turnout as per the preliminary estimates and the number is expected to be high post the final analysis.

“The voter turnout percentage can rise, as we have yet to include data from some places,” says the Chief Election Commissioner Yadav.

 “Despite the difficult terrain, climatic conditions and sporadic anti-election activities, the first phase of elections has been conducted in a peaceful, free and fair way. This is a major achievement towards institutionalizing federalism,” EC said in a statement.

“Due to effective security arrangements made by the government, the elections were held peacefully,” said the Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav after the conclusion of voting process on the day.

According to Ila Sharma, a member of the Election Commission, there were some minor issues from a few places.

Even the election observers from the international and national organizations lauded the Nepali Government’s efforts in holding a peaceful electoral process in the first phase.

According to the Nepali Home Ministry, there was an encouraging public participation in the first phase polls.

“I could not just stay back. I want to vote for the candidate who will develop this village and the district – a candidate with wisdom and compassion, a love for the country. Such a candidate can do much when they get to power,” a voter reportedly said.

Meanwhile another woman voter was quoted to have said, “We need roads, water supply, electricity, health care and jobs so our children are not forced to go abroad to work.”

However, the average voter participation in this election was termed lower compared to the Constituent Assembly elections in 2013 and local elections in 2017, which saw 78.74 percent and 74.16 percent turn-outs, respectively.

The first phase of elections was held for 74 provincial assembly and 37 federal parliamentary seats under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system, while the elections for the remaining parliamentary seats were slated to be held across 45 districts on December 7, 2017.

NHRC Concerned Over Deprived Voters

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in its release, raised serious concern that some of the voters were deprived of voting rights because of the long distances they stay at from the poll center.

In this regard, NHRC urged the government to ensure that such situations are addressed and all the voters get a chance of voting.

According to NHRC, voters did not turn up at some places because of the lack of voter education and relevant information.

A Game-changing Election

The result of this general election is expected to be a game-changer for Nepal as the Nepali citizens are foreseeing the new constitution and efficient governance through this election by putting an end to the long-standing social turmoil in the country.

This election is also expected to bring a major transformation in the Nepali political landscape as evident in the broader alliance formed by the two major communist parties of the country.

After 2008, it was in 2013 that Nepal saw its last election for a constituent assembly that eventually doubled up into a parliament.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: First Phase Polls Conclude with 65% Voter Turnout appeared first on Nepali Sansar.