BIRATNAGAR, Nov 22: With the election day now less than a week away, political parties and candidates in the seven hilly and mountainous districts of Province 1 are making their final efforts to woo voters. This province will witness the parliamentary and provincial assembly elections on November 26. 

The candidates have somewhat speeded up their electoral campaigns in an attempt to convince the voters, as they won't be able to run any kind of poll related activities after the beginning of the 'silent period' on Friday. The Election Commission (EC) has also started sending returning officers along with election materials to the polling booths.

The locals of Taplejung, Paanchthar, Bhojpur, Sankhuwasabha, Khotang, Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu will take part in the much-awaited elections on Sunday. However the seven other districts of Province 1 will observe the elections on December 7. With the increasing incidents of attacks on candidates in Bhojpur and Sankhuwasabha, security has been tightened in the province, according to East Regional Police Office, Biratnagar.
     
As informed by Chief Election Officer of Bhojpur, Harish Chandra Ingnam, election officers have been trained and preparations are underway to dispatch the ballot papers to the polling stations. More than 1,100 officials will be deployed in Bhojpur for the elections. On the other hand, candidates are still busy seeking votes even in the eleventh hour. They are even attending and conducting three to five gatherings a day.
        
Even the Chief Election Office of Taplejung is planning has started sending election officers to the polling stations along with election materials. Election officers have already been sent to 55 out of 114 polling stations of the district. According to Gopal Prasad Thapa, assistant election officer, election materials will reach the polling booths by Wednesday.
 
Similarly, the election officers of Sankhuwasabha have expedited their visits to their respective election constituencies from Saturday.    Altogether 1,209 returning officers have been deployed in the district for the upcoming elections. "They have been sent to their respective polling stations under strict security," informed DSP Santosh Khadka. 

Furthermore, the candidates vying in the upcoming elections in Paanchthar have intensified their election campaigns in order to make an impact on the voters for the very last time before the polls. It has been quiet hard for the candidates and leaders to manage time for various gatherings and assemblies being organized at different places in a single day. But still they have been doing everything possible just to impress their voters.

 
• candidates
 
• officials
 
• make
 
• final
 
• preparations
 
• polls