A meeting of the Central Security Committee on Sunday endorsed the Integrated Election Security Plan 2025, prepared for the March 5 parliamentary elections, and forwarded it to all four concerned security agencies.

The meeting also decided to begin province-level security workshops, with the first such meeting scheduled to be held in Lumbini on November 25.

Moreover, the meeting classified polling centres across the country into three categories—highly sensitive, sensitive, and normal.

According to the Home Ministry’s assistant spokesperson Rabindra Acharya, out of the total polling centres, 3,518 have been categorised as highly sensitive, 4,029 as sensitive, and 2,089 as normal.

The classification is based on the data available so far, Acharya said. “Since the government has extended the deadline for voter registration, the number of voters may increase and the number of polling centres may also rise accordingly,” Acharya said, adding there might be some changes on the classification of the polling centres vis a vis the security aspect as well.

The meeting has also suggested the government to recruit more than 100,000 Election Security Police to be hired for elections, according to an official privy to the development.

“As voter registration is underway, the exact number of temporary police to be recruited is not certain,” the official said. “According to our estimation, it appears that between 100,000 and 120,000 personnel will be required.”

The duration of their deployment will depend on the budget allocated for this purpose, said a security official who participated in the Central Security Committee meeting.

Previously, security personnel deployed for a fixed period during elections were referred to as temporary police. However, it has now been decided that, from this time onwards, they will be called Election Security Police instead of temporary police.

The decision comes amid the development that, according to police data, the number of officers resigning from the force has been increasing since the Gen Z movement in early September.

Since the Gen Z movement, the number of officers resigning after taking the gratuity stands at 72, while 343 have had their resignations approved along with their pension benefits.

Even before this, police statistics had shown a rising number of resignations due to declining interest in police service. During the Gen Z uprising, three police officers were killed in Kathmandu, and security personnel deployed on duty were subjected to degrading treatment.

“Although some officers have resigned, there have also been new recruits,” said Acharya, the assistant spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs. “Therefore, the issue of resignations will not have any significant impact on election security.”

Earlier, a joint taskforce was formed under the leadership of a Nepali Army general to prepare an integrated security plan for the upcoming election.

The taskforce includes representatives from the Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department. It was mandated to draft the integrated security plan related to the election.

According to Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet, the taskforce has prepared the overall framework required for election security, including security arrangements and personnel mobilisation.

“In accordance with the Election Security Management Procedure 2021, an integrated security ad hoc committee has been formed,” spokesperson Basnet told the Post. “This committee prepares the necessary security framework for the election and submits it to the concerned authorities. Subsequently, security personnel will be deployed as per the approved plan.”

By exercising the authority granted under Section 50 of the Election Commission Act, 2017, the Election Commission issued Election Security Management Procedure 2021. Likewise, there is a provision for forming a six-member mechanism for election security coordination and management.

According to the provision, the election commissioner responsible for security serves as the coordinator of the mechanism, while the secretary of the commission is designated as a member. Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, secretary at the Ministry of Defence, a Major General of the Nepali Army nominated by the Chief of Army Staff, and the Inspector General of Nepal Police also serve as members.

Similarly, according to Acharya, the assistant spokesperson at the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government has, with the upcoming election in mind, issued a circular to all district administration offices to trace weapons that were looted during the Gen Z protests, as well as those that had been outside the security apparatus’s oversight even before that.

Acharya said that, as per the circular, all four security agencies have been instructed to engage in the search operation to locate those weapons.