KATMANDU, June 16: A day after the government postponed the second round of local level elections in Province 2, the Election Commission (EC) recalled the chief returning officers and returning officers from the province. 

The chief returning officers and returning officers from the province have been asked to return from their respective offices and begin their regular work in their previous offices. “Chief returning officers and returning officers have been asked to return to their regular job closing the election offices,” said EC Spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma. 

According to Sharma, the returning officers will have to return to their previous offices by Wednesday while the chief returning officers have been asked to return to their regular jobs by Saturday. Election officers have been asked to store the ballot papers in the army barracks.  Other poll related logistics, however, will be stored in the district election offices. 
The government on Thursday re-scheduled the elections in Province 2 for September 18 for what it said to ‘resolve the Madhes crisis’ and bring the poll-opposing parties on board the election process. 

“Since the government has already deferred the polls in this province, we wanted them to continue their regular jobs,” said Election Commissioner Ishwari Paudyal. The EC deputes government officials - mostly from the judicial and administrative backgrounds - before elections and they return to own offices once the election completes. 

As per the government’s plan, the EC was preparing to conduct the elections in 461 local units of provinces 1, 2, 5 and 7. But the poll in Province 2 was postponed on Thursday, a day before the candidacy nomination day. Province 2 has 127 local units.

 
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• province 2