Mixed reaction to big size ballot paper

LALITPUR, May 14: Many voters complained of the large size ballot paper used during the voting today, under the first phase of local-level elections.

The ballot paper for 16 districts including Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur was the longest with 68 different columns. As a result, many voters said it was hard for them to find the election symbol they were looking for and also to fold it into the ballot box.

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"I had to spend a lot of time looking for the election symbol", said Sumati Shakya, who voted at the polling centre in the Bagmati Zonal Transport Office, Ekantakuna Lalitpur.

Some said they feared that the ink of the swastik stamp put on the ballot paper would blot while the paper was being folded. Sabita Timilsina, who voted from the same polling station, viewed that the fact that inks may spread and the vote invalidated while folding it should be taken into consideration. She also complained that there was lack of voter's education for the same.

Journalist Babita Basnet, who cast her vote from polling centre at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, said that although the ballot paper is large in size, it was not so difficult to cast vote.

She said that voters have been casting vote enthusiastically as local-level election is taking place after around 20 years.

Similarly, another voter Bal Kumari Silpakar, who voted from Patan Durbar Square polling centre, said that she did not face any problems in casting vote while Amirman Bajracharya complained that it was difficult to find the election symbols. RSS