The silence period for the upcoming local by-elections began today, prohibiting all forms of election campaigning until the completion of vote counting.
The silence period starts 48 hours before the voting day and is implemented to ensure the election is conducted in a fair, free, impartial, credible, and fearless environment.
During this period, any campaigning, including discussions, interactions, gatherings, workshops, or conferences in favour of or against any candidate, is strictly prohibited. The Election Commission has also banned using electronic means, such as SMS, Facebook, and Viber, to solicit votes.
The commission has clarified that media outlets are barred from publishing or broadcasting any predictions regarding the outcome of the election.
Violations of the silence period will be monitored by central and district code of conduct monitoring committees, local administrations, security personnel, and monitoring officers. Strict action will be taken against violators as per the law.
The Election Commission has urged political parties, candidates, their affiliated organisations, and individuals to refrain from any activities that breach the election code of conduct outlined in the Election Code of Conduct, 2022.
By-election overview
By-elections are scheduled for Sunday, covering 44 positions across 33 districts. These include two district coordination committee chiefs, one mayor, one deputy mayor, two rural municipality chairs, four vice-chairs, and 34 ward chairs.
A total of 162 polling locations and 293 polling stations have been set up for the elections, with 226,799 registered voters. Among them, 114,900 are male, 111,896 are female, and three are listed as others.
Voting will take place for 41 positions, as three positions have already been decided unopposed. Tek Raj Bhattarai of the Nepali Congress has been elected unopposed as the chief of the Okhaldhunga District Coordination Committee, along with Tika Kumari Chaudhary (Bhul) in Kailali. Jagat Gharti of the Maoist Center has been elected unopposed as the ward chair of Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality–2 in Eastern Rukum.
