Kathmandu [Nepal], February 22 (ANI): Additional security forces have been deployed to districts outside Kathmandu valley, especially the southern plains of Nepal, to maintain security across nearly 11 thousand polling stations. More than 3 lakh security personnel, including police, Army, election police and more are tasked with ensuring a peaceful election process on March 5. These are the first elections being held after the Gen-z uprising which led to the resignation of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli
At the Nepal Police Academy in Kathmandu, over three thousand police personnel boarded buses as they started off for assigned districts to maintain security for the March 5 election.
“Except for Karnali, we are deploying personnel to the remaining six provinces. An additional 13 thousand police personnel will be deployed across various districts for the election. Those sent today will be stationed in Morang, Dhankuta, Udaypur, Sankhuwasabha, Terhathum, Siraha, Parsa, Saptari, Sarlahi, and Rautahat districts,” Central Spokesperson of the Nepal Police, Abinarayan Kafle, confirmed to ANI over the phone.
Earlier this month, the Nepal Army was deployed for security as the Himalayan nation heads for the parliamentary election, which is scheduled for March 5. The polls, which come six months after the September Gen-Z uprising is being observed with caution.
With hundreds of inmates on the loose and a higher number of polling stations deemed sensitive in comparison to the previous elections, security has been revamped all across the nation.
The Nepal Army alone has deployed a total of 79,727 personnel across the nation as support for the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and election police in holding the polls peacefully.
The deployment comes in line with the Integrated Election Security Plan and an earlier Cabinet decision. As per the Integrated Election Security Plan endorsed by the president in November, the army will replace police forces in airports, prisons, and other sensitive areas. Apart from guarding those sensitive areas, the army will provide security in the third layer while also patrolling as and when needed.
As many as 338,000 security personnel, including the election police, are being deployed in the election period. The authorities have classified 3,680 of the country’s 10,967 polling stations as “highly sensitive”.
According to the Nepal Police, among those polling stations, 2,845 have been placed in the “normal” category based on the level of security risk, while 4,442 have been designated as “sensitive” and 3,680 as “highly sensitive”.
There are more highly sensitive stations than in the 2022 election, according to Nepal Police data.
In the previous election, 3,412 polling stations were classified as highly sensitive. This time, the number has risen to 3,680. In total, 268 more polling stations, compared to the last election, have been classified as highly sensitive stations.
In the previous election, there were a total of 10,892 polling stations. This time, the number has increased to 10,967. (ANI)
