In relation to the preparations for the upcoming House of Representatives election on March 5, INSEC conducted monitoring in Lalitpur on March 2. The monitoring was led by Shivaprasad Khakurel, Coordinator of INSEC Bagmati Province, during which meetings and discussions were held with the Chief Election Officer and Lalitpur Constituency No. 3 Election Officer Punaram Khanal, SP of Lalitpur District Police, and Information Officer Gautam Mishra, and Lalitpur Constituency No. 2 Election Officer Samjhana Simkhada Pudasaini.
Chief Election Officer and Chief Judge of Lalitpur District, Punaram Khanal, informed that all polling stations in the district have been staffed. He stated that the personnel deployed for the election had left for the respective polling centers with election materials on March 1. He added that polling officers, assistant polling officers, and other supporting staff had been trained, and all-party meetings had been held at the district level to inform political parties about the Election Code of Conduct.
Chief Election Officer Khanal also stated that no use of children in election campaigns had been observed, and efforts were being made to make polling centers disability-friendly. He further suggested that producers and distributors of materials used by political parties in election campaigning should also be brought under the purview of the Election Code of Conduct.
In Lalitpur Constituency No. 1, there are 12 wards excluding Mahankal Rural Municipality, Konjyosom Rural Municipality, Bagmati Rural Municipality, and Godawari Municipality, Wards No. 12 and 14. In this constituency, 53 polling locations with 100 polling centers cover 80% of the district’s geography. According to District Election Officer Goma Dhamala Ghimire, there are 77,737 voters in the area, including 38,840 women and 38,897 men.
In Constituency No. 2, there are 39 polling locations with 104 polling centers. According to District Election Officer Ghimire, the constituency has 89,082 voters, including 43,298 women and 45,784 men.
In Constituency No. 3, there are 39 polling locations with 114 polling centers. According to District Election Officer Ghimire, there are 102,437 voters in the constituency, including 49,411 women and 53,026 men.
The District Election Office reported that at certain polling centers, Kitini Secondary School in Constituency No. 1, Godawari, Patan Secondary School and Patandhoka in Constituency No. 2, and Jawalakhel Football Ground in Constituency No. 3, all election staff are women. Local residents have referred to these polling locations as women-friendly polling stations.
Although there have been few complaints of Code of Conduct violations in the district, a verbal complaint of violation by a political party in Constituency No. 2 was addressed verbally by Election Officer Samjhana Simkhada Pudasaini. She also stated that all polling officers have been instructed to ensure smooth voting arrangements by placing voters such as the disabled, elderly, pregnant, postpartum women, women with infants, and widows in separate lines. The Chief Election Officer’s office added that arrangements have also been made for such voters to sit on separate benches and rest if needed.
SP and Information Officer Gautam Mishra of the Lalitpur District Police Office stated that all necessary security preparations for the election have been completed. He informed that the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Nepali Army have been deployed as needed to secure polling locations.
The monitoring team observed various locations in Lalitpur to check for violations of the Election Code of Conduct. The Chief Election Officer’s office reported that since some polling locations are set up in open grounds and monastery compounds, tents have been arranged for physical and technical security, and in schools, ballot boxes have been placed on verandas outside classrooms.
During meetings with the relevant authorities, Shivaprasad Khakurel, Coordinator of INSEC Bagmati Province, emphasized that all agencies must coordinate effectively to ensure that the election is conducted in a peaceful, fair, and fear-free manner.