As election to the House of Representatives approaches, the government has started expediting security updates at highest levels on a daily basis.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sushila Karki and Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal convened back to back security briefings and reviewed the security situation, focusing on the March 5 election.

Prime Minister Sushila Karki has received briefings from the chiefs of all security agencies regarding election preparations and the overall security situation, said a notice issued by the Karki's private secretariat.

Security agencies have identified a dozen security challenges, including clashes between supporters of various political parties, communal disturbances, religious tension, activities of the monarchist factions, prisoners who escaped from jails during the Gen Z protests in September, and activities of various political parties that have boycotted the election, among others.

“We have more or less zeroed in on the elements that can pose security challenges, but those who spread rumours on social media, whether inside or outside the country, remain the major source of challenges that needs to be tamed,” a senior security official told the Post.

He added that some communist leaders and factions and groups, individuals and campaigners advocating for restoration of the monarchy and Hindu nation, are opposing the election, so they are under close surveillance.

Activities of controversial monarchist Durga Prasain, some pro-royalist groups, and certain communist factions and leaders calling for election boycott are being closely monitored.

According to Ram Rawal, Prime Minister Karki's press adviser, chiefs of all security agencies agreed that misinformation and disinformation on social media remain the biggest security and technical challenge and serious threat to the elections.

In the presence of Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, Chief Secretary Suman Raj Aryal, Chief of Army Staff Ashok Raj Sigdel, Home Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha, Head of the Peace and Security Division of the Home Ministry Anand Kafle, Inspector General of Nepal Police Dan Bahadur Karki, Inspector General of Armed Police Force Raju Aryal, and Chief of the National Investigation Department Tekendra Karki, a review was also conducted on the current security management, possible challenges, and the strategies adopted to address them.

“The prime minister discussed what could be the worst-case scenario and what could be the best-case scenario regarding the security situation. All four heads of the security agencies assured the prime minister that for the first time in Nepal's election history, such a huge security deployment has been made,” Rawal, who was present at the meeting, told the Post.

Over 300,000 security personnel have already been deployed, and some forces have been kept on standby for emergencies.

Similarly, the Nepali Army and Nepal Police have set up dedicated IT cells to counter misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes, and other tampered content on social media so that elections are not disturbed.

In the meeting, Prime Minister Karki stated that the election security situation has so far been satisfactory.

After the meeting, Karki wrote in her Facebook wall that a detailed discussion and review of election preparations and the overall security situation was held at Baluwatar on Tuesday.

“There is no room for doubt regarding the security arrangements. Taking potential challenges and risks into account, all mechanisms have been mobilized with necessary vigilance, strict monitoring, and effective coordination.”

“The government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the election is conducted in a free, fair, fearless, and peaceful manner,” said Karki, adding, “all citizens are urged to exercise their voting rights with confidence and without fear.”

Earlier on Tuesday, a high-level security committee meeting had concluded that there were no major security challenges that could affect the elections.

The committee’s meeting held at the Election Commission concluded that security arrangements for the elections were strong and that no major threats had been identified. Senior officials from all the security agencies had briefed on the country’s law-and-order situation in the run-up to the elections.

According to Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, the meeting also discussed potential security challenges that could arise during the elections and ways to address them appropriately. “The representatives of the security agencies informed that the peace and security situation is robust,” he said. “They also briefed that the environment is conducive for all political parties carrying out their activities peacefully, and that the voters can exercise their franchise without any fear.

During the meeting, the security officials claimed that isolated cases of confrontations and clashes should not be taken as national problems. They said the security agencies were handling them properly.

“The proactive role of local administrations in places where a few incidents occurred has prevented any untoward events. The overall environment across the country was turning friendly for the polls,” he said.