Kathmandu, February 26 Nepal's Election Commission said on Thursday that preparations for the March 5 election of the House of Representatives have reached the final stage, with all election materials reaching 165 constituencies across the country.
Around 41.15 million ballot papers, for both the first-past-the-post (FPTP) or direct election and proportional representation system, have reached all 165 constituencies in all 77 districts across the country, said Election Commission (EC) spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai.
The EC said that voter education programs, being conducted in all 753 local level bodies across the country since February 15, will be completed by March 1.
Political parties had officially launched their election campaigns from February 16, which will continue until March 2. The Election Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee, along with other concerned bodies, are actively carrying out election monitoring work.
The EC has already instructed political parties and candidates to conduct their campaigns in a "modest and civilized manner."
Speaking at an interaction program in Kathmandu, acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said that the commission is committed to conducting the upcoming election in a free, fair, and reliable manner, and that the election preparation works have reached their final stage.
The government has announced a three-day holiday starting from March 4 to encourage voter participation.
Nepal is set to hold the House of Representatives elections on March 5, the first since last year's deadly Gen-Z protests that toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led coalition government.
More than 18.9 million eligible voters will exercise their voting rights, which starts at 7 am and concludes at 5 pm.
The EC has said that the results under the direct voting system will be announced within 24 hours after the collection of all ballot boxes.
During the HoR election, a total of 275 members of parliament, 165 under direct voting and 110 under the proportional representation system, will be elected.
The government has arranged foolproof security under the coordination of the Nepal Army, deploying more than 330,000 security personnel.
