Nepal police detains 6 people for sloganeering against election
Nov 19, 2022
Kathmandu [Nepal], November 19 : Nepal police on Saturday arrested six members of the Communist Party of Nepal (Revolutionary Maoist) who had been sloganeering against the upcoming election which is scheduled to take place on November 20.
"6 people have been arrested and are kept at Durbar Marg," SP of Kathmandu Valley Police Officer Sitaram Rijal told ANI over the phone.
The protesters were representing an alliance of communist factions against the General Elections.
Nepal on November 20 will elect 165 representatives as per the First Past the Post (FPTP) in the 275-member House of Representatives or the Lower House of the bicameral parliament. The remaining 110 seats will be decided on a Proportional Representation basis. The state assemblies on the other hand would account for 330 seats.
Earlier, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba appealed to Nepali citizens to cast their votes in the upcoming election.
Taking to Twitter, PM Deuba on Thursday urged the citizens to vote for the candidates of the Nepali Congress.
"Dear Voters, Let's celebrate democracy by participating in voting on November 4th. Let's vote for the candidates of the coalition on each side and the tree symbol of Nepali Congress on the proportional side," he tweeted.
It is pertinent to mention that November 4 in the Nepali calendar is November 20 in the Indian calendar. According to the Nepal calendar, currently the year 2079 is on.
Meanwhile, the Nepal government announced a two-day public holiday for the November 20 polls, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Issuing a notice on Tuesday, Home Ministry Spokesperson Fanindra Mani Pokharel said public holidays have been announced for November 20 and November 21 for the House of Representatives and provincial assembly elections.
The notice further states that educational institutions including schools designated as voting centres will be closed on November 18-21, according to Kathmandu Post.