Former Election Commissioners requests the EC to act with restraint

KATHMANDU, Nov 7: The former Chief Election Commissioners have asked the Election Commission (EC) to act with restraint.

Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel said since moderation is the greatest strength of the EC during elections the speech and behavior of EC should be in accordance with it. Arguing that even a small mistake of the EC can ignite like a spark of fire, he said that EC officials should be aware of it. 

Speaking at an interaction program on 'Management of the Election Commission' held in Lalitpur on Sunday, Pokharel made it clear that the EC should think deeply so that the atmosphere of the election is not destroyed because of him.

Surya Prasad Shrestha, another former chief election commissioner, drew the attention of the EC to make effective security arrangements for the election keeping in mind the security sensitivity. He mentioned that districts where top leaders are candidates are more sensitive and reminded that attention should be paid to arrange necessary security arrangements.

Former Acting Chief Election Commissioner Dolakh Bahadur Gurung pointed out the need for the EC to be serious in order to avoid confusion in the counting of votes. He mentioned that the issue of counting of votes in all elections will be complicated and said that the commission should make a plan in time to prevent that from happening. Gurung said that the Commission should also be aware of the work of monitoring the ballots sent in the election.

Gurung said that the EC should also be careful about the security of the election ballot box. Discussing the incident in the past when the truck carrying the ballot went missing, he also said that such a situation should not be allowed to happen.