Kathmandu, May 4
Political parties in the Bhaktapur district have been found violating the election code of conduct for the May 13 local election.
This information was shared at a media interaction on the poll organized here today jointly by the District Administration Office and the District Election Office.
In one case, police were mobilized to stop the distribution of essentials by election campaigners in a bid to influence voters, shared Chief District Officer Rudra Devi Sharma on the occasion.
“Poll campaigners have been found distributing blankets and flask bottles in Suryabinayak and Changunarayan to influence voters. Acting on a complaint, police were immediately sent to intervene in the unethical act,” she said, adding that some 20 award distribution programs seeking permission were also prevented in view of possibly influencing the election.
They have been asked to take place after the poll, she said. Metropolitan Police Range
Bhaktapur, superintendent of police Shiva Kumar Shrestha said major political parties were
found violating the election code of conduct.
As he shared, election publicity materials displayed at 19 locations breaching the code of
conduct were removed.
Representatives of the District Administration Office and the Election Officer said political
parties in the district were found indulging in anti-code of conduct affairs.
They have been alleged of tried to woo electorates with gifts. As SP Shrestha, big political
parties disobeyed the order to remove poll publicity materials placed violating the code of
conduct.
“Political parties are highly expected to contribute to the enforcement of the code of conduct, but the case is different here,” he said.
Chief Judge at Bhaktapur District Court, Gopal Prasad Banstola, who is also the Chief Election Officer in the district, said that they were overwhelmed with election-related work as the number of employees deputed for election-related work this time is half their numbers during the last election.
Stating that the employees are working from 7 am to 7 pm every day, he said there was a
dearth of employees to carry out monitoring.
“We have been carrying out indirect monitoring when moving up and down this road. We have tried our level best to stop code violations. The parties should voluntarily follow the code of conduct which they prepared themselves,” said Banstola.
Banstola however claimed that there were negligible instances of code violation in Bhaktapur in comparison to Kathmandu.
He added that they were also trying their best to stop even these violations.
The Chief Election Officer informed that the work of installing CC cameras at vote counting
stations was underway.
(RSS)
