NA by-polls today, results to be announced virtually in evening

KATHMANDU, May 20: The Election Commission (EC) is holding the by-elections for a vacant seat in the National Assembly (NA) from Bagmati Province, on Thursday. According to the poll body, voting is taking place between 9 AM and 3 PM. 

Minister for Home Affairs, Ram Bahadur Thapa from the ruling CPN-UML andDr Khimlal Devkota from the opposition alliance including Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center) and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) are vying for the vacant seat in the upper house of parliament. Similarly, Krishna Bahadur Tamang from the Nepal Peasants and Farmers Party is also in the race.

An electoral college of 348 voters including  110 Bagmati Province Assembly members  and 238 chiefs and deputy chiefs of local levels will elect the members of the 50-member upper house. Among the voters, Pashupati Chaulagain, a member of the province assembly, died of coronavirus a few days ago.

Hetauda-based Bhutan Devi Secondary School  has been designated as the polling center for Thursday’s by-polls. 

Separate voting arrangements have been made for the province assembly members, local level people's representatives and corona infected voters. One should produce either a voter’s identity card or a citizenship certificate or a national identity card to cast his/her vote.

Arrangements have also been made to make public the results of the by-elections virtually. According to Chief Election Officer, Dilliratna Shrestha, the results of the counting will be announced virtually. Votes will be counted at Bhutan Devi Secondary School starting from 5 PM. Results are likely to be announced by Thursday evening itself. 

The EC is holding by-polls to elect legislator in a vacant seat in the upper house of parliament that fell vacant after the former lawmaker Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, who was elected from the CPN (Maoist Center),  was suspended as the member of parliament after he joined the ruling CPN-UML.