Nepal election: Voters ID card to be distributed from November 15

Kathmandu: The Election Commission of Nepal will distribute voter ID cards for three days from November 15 for the November 19 Constituent Assembly polls.

"We will distribute the voters` identity cards to the eligible voters from November 15 to 18," spokesperson at the Election Commission (EC), Bir Bahadur Rai, said today. There are 12,147,865 eligible voters who are entitled to exercise their voting rights on November 19 Constituency Assembly Elections to elect 601 members. Some 120 political parties are contesting the elections to secure berths in 601-member Constituent Assembly. The voters will elect 240 members through direct voting system, while 335 candidates will be elected through proportionate voting system. The remaining 26 members will be nominated by the government. The November 19 polls to elect the Constituent Assembly are the second national elections since Nepal`s 10-year civil war ended in 2006. The first Constituent Assembly was dissolved last year without drafting the Constitution due to differences among the political parties on some key issues, including forms of governance and federal structure. This time voters` identity card has been made mandatory by the EC for casting votes to check irregularity. Some 1,50,000 security personnel, including 60,000 Army personnel, are being mobilised for the election in an effort to step up security in the wake of threats by CPN-Maoist, breakaway faction of Unified CPN-Maoist, and some other fringe parties to foil the election.