Province 3 assigned NIWF Observers from the 2022 Nepalese General Election share their Experience

A brief background of Province 3: Bagmati Province has 13 districts, located in the central part of Nepal bordering China in the north, Province 1 in the east, Province 2 and India in the south, and Gandaki Province in the west. It consists of 119 local units and covers an area of 20,300 km². The provincial capital is Hetauda. The governor and chief minister of the province are Mr. Bishnu Prasad Prasai and Mr. Dormani Poudel respectively. It has 33 House of Representative Constituencies and 110 Provincial Assembly members.

According to the National Population and Housing Census 2011, the total population of Bagmati Province are 5,529,452, (49.69% male and 50.31% female) and a population density of 272 per km². The average household size is 4.35. The largest ethnic group in the province is Adibasi Janajati constituting 53.17% of the total population followed by Khas Arya (37.09%), Dalit (5.84%), Tharu (1.66%) and Madhesi (1.57%). The main language spoken is Nepali (57.42%) followed by Tamang (18.32%), Newar (12.30%), and Others (11.96%).

According to National Population and Housing Census 2011, the literacy rate is 74.85%, male literacy is 82.82% whereas female literacy is 67.04% of females are literate. In Bagmati Province, there are 621 campuses, which means 43.37% of the total number of campuses. Compared to other provinces, a large number of campuses are concentrated in this province. Among them, 170 of them are community campuses whereas 407 of them are private campuses. Only 44 of them are constituent campuses. Furthermore, there are 7031 schools.

(Source: Nepal Outlook)

Report 1 by: Bimala Tamang Lama

Observer: Bimala Tamang

Place of posting: Kavrepalanchowk, Panauti Nagarpalika Ward-10, Shree Baal Aadesh Aadharbhut Vidhyalaya

Observer Report 1 by Bimala Tamang Lama: On the 20^th of November 2022, the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly member elections were completed in a peaceful manner atKavrepalanchowk, Panauti Nagarpalika Ward-10, Shree Baal Aadesh Aadharbhut Vidhyalaya.

Number of Voters: While there was 1725 number of registered people for Voting, 1078 people ended up voting in this Polling center.

Appointed Personnel for each voting booth: There were 17 Polling Officers including 8 Women Polling Officers. There were 8 Polling Volunteers including 3 women. There were 1726 Polling papers in this voting center. The Chief Polling officers were Bishnu Adhikari and Nawaraj Nepal.

Security and safety for voting systematically: While the polling officially started at 6:35 AM, it took place until 7:56 PM. Elderly Voters and Pregnant women were prioritized to make the polling experience smooth and convenient. The Polling Centre was well maintained in terms of security and there were no incidents of foul play or disturbances of any kind within the premises.

Code of Conduct and Systemization for Safe Voting: The location of the Polling Centre was known and visible to the locals. It was well known throughout the municipalities on the access points for Polling on Election Day. The Polling Centre was well; – managed and well-directed. Before the polling started, the empty ballots were shown clearly. There were 10 men and 3 women Security Personnel in the Polling Center. There were also 8 Women and 9 Men Polling Booth Representatives. There were 8 Voting Booths. However, there were also 2 Empty Voting Booths without Polling Papers. 

For voters who did not know how to read and write, they were allowed to bring someone else to assist them towards the Polling booth and the assistant helped them vote their desired candidate without any foul play. The volunteers and officers made sure of that.

Observer Experience in the Polling Center: I was provided with easy access to enter the Polling Center once I showed my Observer ID card and cap/ jacket. Everything was announced appropriately including the start of polling hours and finishing time and such. The Observer from another Organization was Bidhur Chandra Lamicchane from Rashtriya Vyavasaya Pahal. It was a smooth- sailing Observer Experience in this Polling Center. 

Report 2: 

Observer: Rajkumar Lama

Place of posting: Kavre, Panauti Municipality Ward-11, Shree Sharada Higher Secondary School

Observer Report 2 by Rajkumar Lama: On the 20^th of November 2022, the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly member elections were completed in a peaceful manner atKavre, Panauti Municipality Ward-11, Shree Sharada Higher Secondary School

Number of Voters: While there were 3370 polling papers in the Polling Center, the final number of Voters amounted to 2276. There were 16 Ballot Boxes in use while 4 Ballot boxes were not in use.

Appointed Personnel for each voting booth: There were 32 Polling Officers including 16 Women Polling Officers. There were also 16 Government Polling Representatives, including 1 woman. The Chief Polling Officers were Bhola P. Rijal, Bujhchekrishna Shrestha, Meera Neupane, and Roshan K.C. The Polling started sharply at 7:15 AM

Security and safety for voting systematically: No suspicious activities or incidents were reported within the Polling Station. Each voter was carefully monitored to vote only once and marked accordingly once they cast their votes. There were no sightings of people with disabilities within the Polling Centre. In all, the voting process was easy- going and much care was given to ensure that all voters could cast their polls safely and without any hindrance. There was Women Security personnel in the Polling Center as well which made Women within the Polling Center feel much safer. 

Code of Conduct and Systemization for Safe Voting: All mechanisms used in the Polling Center were in a good state and there was no sign of any Parties trying to influence the voters. After the voting ended at 7:25 PM, the ballots were safely guided to the tallying location by security personnel and government officials responsible. 

Observer Experience in the Polling Center: There were a total of two Observers including me, the other observer was Bidhur Chandra Lamicchane from Nepal Business Institute (NBI). In all, my experience as an Observer was very systematic and unproblematic. I hope to be a part of this experience in the near future as well.