Media should be "bridge" between Commission and voters: Commissioner Tuladhar

Election Commissioner Dr Janaki Kumari Tuladhar asserted that the media should spread rightful and truthful information and work as a "bridge" between the Election Commission and voters to make the upcoming election a success.

The House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20 this year.

At a media orientation programme organized by the Election Commission of Nepal in association of the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) today, Commissioner Tuladhar shared that the Commission was doing the needful works in view of the upcoming parliamentary election within the authority and jurisdiction enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal.

Stating that the Commission had given a great importance to coordination and collaboration with media, Tuladhar viewed that it was important to establish the values that Commission's leadership and our responsibility were essential to make the election free, fair and impartial.

Tuladhar said, 'Journalists are messengers of right information during the elections. The right information from journalists is a milestone for us." According to her, the Commission was aware that no vote goes invalid, and that the role of the media was important for that.

She informed that the printing of ballot papers for Proportional Representation (PR) was almost over while ballot papers were being printed for the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system for both the elections.

According to her, the Commission had made arrangements for mechanisms such as the Press Office, Call Center and running e-bulletin for easy availability of information regarding the election and its preparations.

Calling for the need for coordination with the media more closely during the election process, she urged the journalists to remain aware about misleading information and offensive statements, and requested them to disseminate balanced and authorized information only.

Pressing for the compliance of the election code of conduct by one and all, the Election Commissioner appealed to the journalists to bring to the fore the cases and incidents of violation of the election code of conduct.