The security situation in the district has been tightened to ensure a peaceful election and to enable voters to exercise their franchise. A large number of security personnel have been deployed across the district to prevent possible violent clashes and booth occupation on polling day.

Polling officers, staff and security personnel have reached the polling stations with election materials. The District Security Committee has said that all three security agencies have been conducting joint patrols and close monitoring of polling stations considered highly sensitive for two weeks to ensure a peaceful election.

The general voters are curious about whether the election of the House of Representatives on Dolakha 21, which is always chaotic on election day, will be peaceful or not. For the first time, the district police will be mobilized under the leadership of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Somendrasingh Rathore to conduct the election peacefully. Similarly, senior officers of the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force have also arrived in the district to take charge of the election security command, the Security Committee has said.

The Security Committee has placed 95 polling stations in the district on the highly sensitive list. 28 polling stations are sensitive and 15 polling stations are on the general list. Shooting and booth capture are common in every election. All elections held since 2048 have always witnessed violent clashes and booth capture. On election days, due to gunfire and violence at polling stations due to voter capture, voters have been complaining that they were not able to cast their votes, feeling unsafe.

Chief District Officer Hari Prasad Ghimire said that such activities will be completely eliminated in the election on March 21. According to him, separate bases for the Nepal Army, District Police and Armed Police Force have been set up two weeks ago after identifying such places. He said that security personnel are urging voters to come to cast their votes by using mikes to create an environment for voting in those areas.

‘Security personnel have created an environment for voting by using mikes, security personnel have been mobilized to prevent incidents like in the past,’ he said. ‘A different strategy has been made to protect the polling stations and ballot boxes, including the safety of voters.’

He said that since voters who were found during monitoring of polling stations considered to be very sensitive in the past complained that they were not able to cast their votes, this time an environment has been created for voting with confidence. Voters say that they have not been able to vote in some polling stations for years. After the violent clashes and booth capture on election day, Home Minister Ame Prakash Aryal and the Acting Chief Election Commissioner first visited the polling station in Vaityashwar Rural Municipality-2 of the district for an inspection. Home Minister Aryal returned after understanding the security strategy of all three security agencies. Soon after that, Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police Somendrasingh Rathore was sent to Dolakha.

Chief District Officer Ghimire said that CCTV cameras have been installed in the outer perimeter of most polling stations in schools and ward offices. ‘CC cameras have been installed in the outer perimeter as much as possible in polling stations considered highly sensitive,’ he said. ‘There is no possibility in some polling stations, security personnel will closely monitor such polling stations.’ He said that security personnel have been mobilized to prevent fake votes and booth capture under any circumstances.

As the election time approaches, he claimed that the question of whether voters will be able to participate in the election peacefully or not will be resolved through this election. Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Lama said that voters in polling stations considered highly sensitive have been given verbal advice by visiting their homes to ensure their safety.