SC denies interim order on voting rights to govt officials

KATHMANDU, Nov 6: The Supreme Court (SC) has concluded that an interim order was not needed on the demand for voting rights to the government officials deployed in the House of Representatives and State Assembly polls.

A division bench of Justices Dipak Raj Joshi and Dambar Bahadur Shahi said that Election Commission (EC) itself was there to consider over the issue by not going against the Constitution of Nepal and interim order was not required on voting rights to the government officials deployed in the polls.

Bharat Kumar Mainali of Office of the Attorney General had lodged a writ petition demanding voting rights from the polling stations where the officials are deployed under the proportional electoral system.

On Sunday, the SC had sought amicus curiae after the hearing on the writ petition. Senior Advocate Prakash Bahadur KC from the Nepal Bar Association and Senior Advocate Dr Chandra Kanta Gyawali from Supreme Court Bar Association pleaded representing the amicus curiae.

After the SC’s latest move, nearly 500,000 officials to be deployed in the polls will not be exercising their franchise in the upcoming November 26 and December 7 elections to the House of Representatives and State Assemblies. RSS