NHRC to monitor May 13 local polls

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is to monitor the upcoming local level elections slated for May 13.

Speaking at a press meet organized by the NHRC given the upcoming local polls, Commission chair Tapa Bahadur Magar said that the election procedures would be monitored through the human rights perspectives. For this purpose, a high-level monitoring team is to be mobilized in each province.

The observation will cover the pre and post-election atmosphere as well.

According to the NHRC, member Dr. Surya Dhungel and his team will be in the Madhesh Province, member Mihir Thakur's team will reach the Gandaki Province, member Manoj Duwadi will be mobilized for the Sudur Paschim Province and a team of member Lily Thapa will visit the Province 1 for the monitoring.

Before this, the NHRC teams had been in 30 districts for the observation of election nomination registration procedures on April 24-25.

The Commission's 47 monitoring teams will monitor the human rights situation reaching voting booths in the 77 districts. The central office too will set up the monitoring control room for monitoring the situation, Chair Magar said.

The Commission shall monitor whether the senior citizens, people observing the death rituals, pregnant women, and the disabled have easy access or not, whether the voting booths have proper arrangements, the security management, mobilization and management of security at the voting booths, the voter education, whether children have been used in the election publicity, the abidance by the code and the possible violence during the election campaigning.

Likewise, the monitoring will also be carried out from the perspective of the protection and promotion of human rights in terms of the impartiality of the election, its confidentiality, women's participation, management of food, and accommodation of the security personnel and employees deputed on election duty, the security arrangement of the vote-counting station, the condition of use of information procedure related to the vote counting, the presence of security personnel and election observer organizations at the vote-counting station, whether the victory rally was peaceful or not and whether the rest of the parties protested or created obstructions, among others.

Chair Magar said that monitoring carried out before the election shows that the government has made preparations for peace and security, the election officers have organized the all-party meeting, the political parties have committed to abiding by the election code of conduct, and the nomination process has been done peacefully and enthusiastically barring sporadic incidents and disputes sometimes.