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Kathmandu [Nepal], February 10 (ANI): Nepal's interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki invited Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava for a meeting at Singha Durbar and thanked India for providing technical support and materials to ensure the smooth conduct of the March parliamentary elections.
The PM Secretariat stated, "Prime Minister Sushila Karki has thanked neighbouring and friendly country India for its support for the elections. Prime Minister Karki called Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava at Singha Durbar and thanked him for providing various materials, including vehicles, to conduct the elections smoothly in the country's special situation."
In response, the Indian Ambassador expressed commitment to Nepal's democratic journey. The PM Secretariat further stated, "In response, Indian Ambassador Srivastava said that it is his duty to always support Nepal's democratic process and provide support as a friendly neighbour. He also said that the democratic and constitutional stability that Nepal achieves after the elections will be important for India as well."
Amid these bilateral exchanges highlighting India's support for Nepal's electoral process, the Election Commission of Nepal on Monday began dispatching ballot boxes to remote districts as the nation prepares for the parliamentary elections next month.
At the Election Commission's head office in Kathmandu, ballot boxes are being piled up, counted, and dispatched to various districts to ensure smooth polling.
As the Himalayan nation gears up for the elections, the electoral body has also expedited the printing of ballot papers. Over 10.9 million ballot papers have been printed so far for the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) category of Nepal's House of Representatives.
Kul Bahadur GC, Assistant Spokesperson at the Election Commission, told ANI over the phone that printing of more than 10.9 million (10,963,000) ballot papers has been completed for 88 constituencies across 37 districts so far.
"Altogether, 20.32 million (20,323,000) ballot papers are required for the House of Representatives' FPTP category for all 165 constituencies across the country," GC said.
"We have also completed packing of printed ballot papers for 37 districts," he added.
These districts include Dolpa, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Humla, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Rukum (Paschim), Salyan and Surkhet. Printing has also been completed for Bajura, Achham, Bajhang, Doti, Dadeldhura, Darchula, Baitadi, Kailali and Kanchanpur.
Furthermore, printing and packing have been completed for Panchthar, Ilam, Tehrathum, Bhojpur, Okhaldhunga, Sunsari, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Khotang, and Dhankuta. The remaining districts for which ballot papers have been printed and packed include Baglung, Gulmi, Jhapa, Gorkha, Myagdi, Parbat, Bardaghat, Susta Paschim, and Nawalparasi.
According to the Election Commission, printing of ballot papers for constituencies in the remaining districts is currently underway at the Janak Education Materials Centre in Sano Thimi, Bhaktapur.
Ballot papers for both the Proportional Representation (PR) and FPTP categories are being printed at the state-owned printing entity.
Printing of ballot papers under the FPTP electoral system began on January 6. More than one million sample ballot papers were printed and dispatched to various districts in the first phase, the EC said.
Printing under the PR system began on January 10, and by January 27, more than 20.83 million ballot papers had been printed, verified, and prepared for dispatch, the EC reported. (ANI)