Nepal Election Commission Removes Over 200,000 Voters from Rolls, Congress Plans Outreach Campaign

The Election Commission in Nepal has removed 203,586 individuals from the voter rolls, citing reasons such as death, duplicate registration, or renunciation of citizenship, according to Onlinekhabar. This update is part of preparations for the upcoming local elections.

Among those removed, 45,322 individuals were deceased. The remaining 158,264 voters were removed due to duplicate entries, cancelled registrations, or renounced citizenship, Onlinekhabar reported.

Districts with a significant number of removals include Jhapa, Morang, Saptari, and Kailali. Specifically, Morang saw 610 removals due to death and 9,521 for other reasons. In Jhapa, 834 were removed due to death and 6,188 for other reasons. Saptari had 6,301 removals due to death and 4,087 for other reasons, while Kailali recorded 1,039 deaths and 6,525 other removals.

Other districts also reported removals: Sunsari had 798 deaths and 4,762 other removals; Dhanusha saw 369 deaths and 4,448 other removals; Rautahat had 2,514 deaths and 4,151 other removals; Palpa recorded 3,044 deaths and 1,685 other removals; and Rupandehi had 181 deaths and 4,361 other removals, Onlinekhabar stated.

The total number of voters in the House of Representatives election on February 21, 2082 BS, was 18,903,689. The current removals are part of the ongoing voter roll update process. Conversely, 187,686 new voters who turned 18 by August 15 and registered their names have been added to the rolls.

Narayana Prasad Bhattarai, co-secretary and spokesperson for the Election Commission, indicated that the commission is updating voter rolls as a preliminary step for local and provincial assembly elections. He also mentioned that the commission plans to ask voters to update their national identity card and mobile numbers, as newer registrations already include national identity card details, but older ones do not. The commission has decided to include national identity card information and is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with relevant bodies.

Nepali Congress Plans Voter Outreach

Separately, the Nepali Congress party is preparing a nationwide awareness campaign to reconnect with voters and understand why many have become disengaged, Onlinekhabar reported. This initiative follows a significant drop in proportional representation votes for the party, from 2,715,225 in the 2079 BS House of Representatives election to 1,759,172 in the subsequent election in February, representing a loss of 956,053 votes.

Party President Gagan Kumar Thapa, speaking in Syangja on November 9, outlined the campaign's objectives: to re-establish connections with voters who have distanced themselves from the party and to convey the message that the party has transformed since its general convention. Thapa emphasized that the party's historical organizational foundation, political relationships, and family ties are crucial assets.

According to Thapa, the campaign will focus on understanding why families previously associated with Congress have left, listening to their grievances, and addressing the reasons for strained relationships. General Secretary Pradip Paudel further explained that a key internal goal is to investigate why the party failed to achieve its target of 1 million votes in the last election and to understand the mindset of those voters.

The campaign, expected to run throughout December, aims to listen to complaints from disgruntled voters, identify reasons for their change in voting preference, and find solutions to bring them back to the Congress party. Paudel expressed the party's expectation that the campaign will increase Congress's vote share in the upcoming local elections.

The campaign will mobilize party structures from the central to ward levels, with representatives from the central working committee assigned for coordination. District and provincial conventions, which are expected to conclude by December, will also proceed under the umbrella of this campaign. The party aims to convey the message of its renewed commitment, as envisioned by its founding leaders, to the homes of voters who were once supporters but are no longer.

Following the December campaign focused on organizational strengthening and restoring public trust, the Nepali Congress plans to conduct election-focused activities in January and February, activating all its organizational structures for the electoral process. The oath-taking ceremony for the newly elected officials and members of the 15th Central Working Committee of the Nepali Congress is scheduled for Thursday at 2 PM at the central office, according to Election Committee member secretary Raju Katuwal.