Bad weather and ballot-paper printing delays pushed polling back by a day, with 7,317 delegates eligible to vote.Senior-most general convention representative Shobhakanta Baral casts the first ballot. Courtesy of Nepali Congress General Convention Secretariat
Voting to elect the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee began on Friday morning, a day later than planned, with senior-most general convention representative Shobhakanta Baral casting the first ballot.
Delegates began lining up early to vote, reviving the enthusiasm of those who had waited in vain on Thursday. Some are keen to cast their ballots and head home in time to celebrate Dashain with their families.
Raju Katuwal, member-secretary of the election committee, said polling was pushed back because of bad weather and technical problems, and starting late in the day risked forcing voters to wait and vote well into the night.
“We decided to start voting this morning, keeping voters’ health in mind,” Katuwal said. Polling was initially scheduled to begin Thursday afternoon.
“We decided to start voting this morning, keeping voters’ health in mind,” Katuwal said. Polling had initially been scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon.
Voting is scheduled to continue until 3pm. The party has 7,317 eligible general convention representatives, Katuwal said.
Prem Bahadur Khadka, senior advocate and coordinator of the election committee, said the decision to start in the morning was intended to spare delegates the strain of voting through the night.
The sheer volume of ballot papers also contributed to the delays. Khadka said 32 senior advocates, including himself, had signed the papers, while the large number of candidates and voters had slowed printing.
Anil Giri is a Chief Sub Editor covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for more than two decades, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.
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