EC directives to chief election officers, election officers

KATHMANDU, June 30: The Election Commission has issued directives to the chief election officers and the election officers to go ahead with counting votes under the second phase local level election even though the election candidates or their representatives are not present or even when they have not put in their signature giving approval for counting the votes.

The meeting of the Election Commission chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Ayodhee Prasad Yadav today decided to continue with the vote count even when all or some of the candidates or their election agents or vote counting agents are not present in the vote counting centre and even when they have not signed on the paper authorizing the counting of votes although being present at the counting venue.

EC spokesman Surya Prasad Sharma said the meeting decided to give directives to the chief election officers and the election officers to go ahead with the vote counting by preparing the vote counting authorization paper if the candidate although present does not give his/her signature to the paper by obtaining the signature of any other candidate or his/her representative who are present or any other persons or employees present there in case the candidates or their representatives are not present or they refuse to give their signature.

The Local Level Election Act states that the voting or counting of votes would not be halted due to the very fact if the election representative or polling representative or vote counting representative were not appointed or if the candidate or his/her agent who should be present is not present at the vote counting venue, and if anyone of them does not carry out the work that he/she has to do. RSS