PM Karki Reviews Election Preparations with Election Commission Officials

KATHMANDU, November 12 — Prime Minister Sushila Karki held a detailed discussion today with senior officials from the Election Commission (EC) to review the ongoing preparations for the upcoming House of Representatives elections, scheduled for March 5, 2025.


The meeting, organized at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar, was attended by Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, Commissioners Dr. Janaki Kumari Tuladhar, Sagun Shumsher Rana, and other senior EC representatives.

During the session, Acting Chief Commissioner Bhandari briefed the Prime Minister that over 60 percent of the election preparations have already been completed. He expressed confidence that the election can be held as planned, emphasizing that the Commission has the necessary capacity and resources to manage the national poll efficiently.

To handle the increasing number of voter registrations, the EC has extended its service hours — now operating in two shifts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — and has boosted its human resources. The Commission has also taken steps to quickly address any technical issues in its online voter registration system.

In the meeting, Namraj Ghimire, Director General of the National Civil Registration Department, announced that the department is ready to share biometric data collected for national identity cards with the EC to facilitate voter identification. Starting Thursday, the EC will begin updating its electoral roll using details from the national ID database. All technical preparations and system testing for this integration are expected to be finalized by tonight.

So far, 22 national and two international observer organizations have applied to monitor the elections. The EC has also circulated a draft election code of conduct to political parties for feedback and will soon publish the final election schedule.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Karki inquired about the feasibility of reducing the campaign spending limit for candidates and introducing inter-district voting to make it easier for citizens residing outside their home constituencies to cast their ballots.