Volunteers have started providing voter education in mother language in several local units in Makawanpur district in an effort to improve electoral awareness and reduce invalid votes ahead of next month’s House of Representatives elections.

In Raksirang and Kailash rural municipalities, which fall under Makawanpur Constituency No 2 and are predominantly inhabited by the marginalised Chepang community, volunteers have been conducting voter education sessions in the Chepang language. According to the local authorities, the approach is particularly important in areas where literacy rates remain low and many voters face difficulties understanding election procedures conducted solely in Nepali.

Likewise, volunteers in Thaha Municipality have been launching voter education in the Tamang language, reflecting the demographic composition of the area. According to voter education monitoring officer Anil Lamichhane, volunteers were selected from within the communities to ensure effective communication. “Because volunteers belong to the same communities, they are able to explain voting procedures clearly in the mother tongue, which has increased participation and understanding,” he said.

The voter education programme began on Sunday across all 102 wards of Makawanpur district. The initiative is being implemented under the supervision of the Provincial Election Office in Hetauda with the aim of reducing the number of invalid votes in the upcoming polls.

The country is holding snap elections on March 5, two years ahead of schedule, following the toppling of the UML-Congress coalition government by an anti-corruption movement last September.

Election officials said trained monitors were deployed from each local unit, who in turn trained ward-level volunteers to conduct door-to-door voter education campaigns. Early childhood facilitators and female community health volunteers have also been mobilised to reach households directly, ensuring that even first-time or illiterate voters receive guidance on ballot marking and voting procedures. According to Provincial Election Office chief Hari Prasad Dhakal, the programme is scheduled to continue until March 1.

Past election data show a relatively high number of invalid votes in Makawanpur, a district in Bagmati Province comprising hilly and inter-Tarai territory. In the 2022 House of Representatives elections, invalid votes in Makawanpur-1 stood at 4.46 percent under the first-past-the-post system and 3.93 percent under proportional representation. In Makawanpur-2, invalid votes reached 4.76 percent and 4.85 percent respectively.

Makawanpur has a total of 315,334 registered voters, including 153,376 women voters and five voters registered under other gender categories. Election officials say mother tongue-based voter education is expected to help minimise confusion and encourage informed participation in the upcoming polls. It will help in reducing invalid vote percentage, they claimed.