KATHMANDU, June 23: With the numbers of voters registered in the new electoral rolls witnessing a sharp decline, the number of polling booths in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) polls scheduled for November 19 is likely to be decreased as compared to the previous CA election.
According to knowledgeable sources at the EC, there will be a maximum of 17,000 polling booths for the new CA election as against 20,890 in the last CA polls. However, the number of polling stations can be increased by a few hundreds, say EC officials. There were 9,824 polling stations across the country in the 2008 CA election.[break]
Altogether 17.6 million voters were registered in the then CA election while the EC has estimated that about 13.5 million voters will be registered in the new electoral rolls by mid-July. The commission has registered 12 million voters so far. The EC has already set July 15 as the cutoff date for eligible voting age for the upcoming CA election.
´With the increase in the total population, it was estimated that the number of voters would also increase but that did not happen so as the new electoral rolls with photographs and biometrics are more stringent than the previous ones,´ the source told Republica, adding, ´There are no chances of duplications in the new electoral rolls and voters, who are not alive, have already been removed from the list.´
As per the existing practices, the constitutional body determines the numbers of polling booths and polling stations in line with the recommendations made by review committees led by the chief district officers (CDOs) in each district across the country.
According to preliminary data collected by the EC from 74 districts, the number of polling stations will be increased by 178 while six old polling stations are to be removed. The EC has yet to collect data from four districts.
´We will finalize the number of polling booths and polling stations by Shrawan 15 (July 30),´ Under Secretary at the EC Ek Narayan Sharma, who heads the Election Operation Section of the commission, told Republica.
According to him, the EC will set up polling booths to that a maximum of 1,000 voters can vote at each booth.
Preliminary EC data shows that Kathmandu district will have 311 polling stations as against 299 in the last CA election and Baitadi district will have 122 polling booths as against 104 in the last CA election. Similarly, Kaski district will have 148 polling stations as against 132 in the 2008 CA election while Ilam district will have 126 polling stations as against 114 in the past CA election.
Meanwhile, according to sources, the EC will have to procure additional ballot boxes for the upcoming CA polls as the number of political parties contesting the election is certain to increase this time. Altogether, 139 political parties have applied for registration at the EC.
´The EC needs larger sized ballot paper this time compared to the past,´ the source said, ´This means 1,000 ballot papers cannot be accommodated in the existing size of each ballot box.´
The EC has currently 57,000 functioning ballot boxes donated by the Japanese government for the 2008 CA election. Japan had donated 60,000 ballot boxes for the last CA election.
Related story
EC designates seven polling centers, 14 polling stations for Na...
