The Election Commission has recommended to the government to seal international borders for 72 hours during the House of Representatives elections. The High-Level Election Security Committee led by Commission member Sagun Shamsher Jabra has recommended sealing the Nepal-India and Nepal-China borders during the elections scheduled for Falgun 21.

Nepal has an open border with India. The Nepal-India border is approximately 1,880 kilometers long. Similarly, the Nepal-China border is under a controlled concept. Citizens of both countries can travel on the basis of visas and temporary passes issued by the local administration in border districts. The commission has recommended that essential goods and services be checked during the election and movement be completely stopped for the rest.

Similarly, it has also recommended a ban on the sale of alcohol across the country for a week before and after the election. The commission's spokesperson, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, said that the recommendation was to ban the sale and distribution of alcohol for a week to control activities such as disrupting peace and security through alcohol consumption and disrupting social harmony.

Bhattarai said that the security committee reviewed the efforts and strategies made during the election preparation and management. According to him, discussions were held on issues such as not allowing vehicles to ply on election days, restricting movement except for essential pass holders, monitoring and controlling propaganda during the silence period, and controlling activities that violate the election code of conduct on social media.

As part of the election security preparations, a meeting at the level of the Armed Police Force and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in Magh had already agreed to seal the border for 72 hours, keeping in mind the Nepali elections.  

The meeting held on Tuesday afternoon was attended by officials including Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, Nepal Army Lieutenant General Pradeep Jung KC, Home Ministry Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha, Election Commission Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut, Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, Inspector General of Armed Police Raju Aryal, National Investigation Department Chief Tekendra Karki, and other security officials from the Home and Defense Ministries and subordinates.