As the Election Commission's deadline of 30 Kartik for registering names in the voter list approaches, the pressure to register and take photos for the voter list has increased. New voters who want to take photos are finding it difficult to find time to do so.

Complaints have been increasing about not being able to select a contact location to take a photo after filling in personal details in the online system for the voter list through the commission's website. The most common problem is faced by those who want to go to the District Election Office, Kathmandu, and take a photo. After Kathmandu, Yubaraj Giri of Sinamangal, who was found outside Kathmandu, said that even after searching for a time in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the election office was not available.

'The number of appointments (quota) for the place and time you have chosen has been exhausted, please choose another convenient place,' those filling out the online voter list form are repeatedly facing such a message on their computer screens. Those who have not been successful even after repeated attempts are relying on cyberspace. A crowd is seen queuing in front of the Kathmandu Election Office. Ankita Poudel of Baneshwor mentioned that she tried to fill out the online form through cyberspace after sometimes she was told that it was not available, sometimes there was no quota.

The government has made special arrangements for registering names in the voter list by amending the law. After the election date was announced, it was not possible to register names in the voter list. The government formed after the Genji movement on 23 and 24 Bhadra has given the opportunity to register the names of those who were left out by amending the Voter List Act. After the Act was amended through the Asoj-9 Ordinance, the Commission started collecting voter lists across the country from Asoj-12. 

185,913 new voters have been added as of 24 Kartik. After the amendment in the law, the number of people coming to register their names has increased by an average of 3/4 times compared to the initial days. Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai mentioned that in the beginning, 5/6 thousand new voters were added daily. Now that number has increased to 20-22 thousand daily. He mentioned that the pressure has increased all at once due to the habit of working at the last minute.

According to the Commission's data, 22,291 people across the country took photos for voter registration papers on 24 Kartik. The day before that, 16,937 people had taken photos. A week ago, that number was limited to 5 to 6 thousand. Bhattarai said that it has gradually increased from 10 thousand to 20 thousand daily. “There are some problems due to the sudden increase in pressure,” he said, “The commission has been solving it.” He informed that from adding quotas to the places where there is pressure, equipment and manpower have also been added. 

The highest pressure is seen in Kathmandu. The number of people taking photos here daily is around 2 thousand. Office Chief Thakur Bhattarai says that work has been done until late at night due to the increase in pressure. 1,920 people took photos on Monday and 1,610 people took photos on Sunday. He mentioned that a century ago, 700 to 1,000 people used to come to take photos daily, but now that number has doubled. He said that the work that started with 3 computers last month is now being done with 8 computers in the same ratio. 

The most common complaint about not getting online appointments is about this office. Office Chief Bhattarai says that he is increasing the daily quota. Due to the increased pressure, even filling out the online form has been stopped when the server is down. That is why we have to try again. 

Commission spokesperson Bhattarai also said that the highest pressure is seen in Kathmandu. He suggests that if you do not have time in Kathmandu, you should check the time at the Bhaktapur and Lalitpur election offices. Since only those who have reached the age of 18 on 20 Falgun will be able to vote in the election to be held on 21 Falgun, he urged people who are younger than that not to fill out the online form now. ‘The process of registering names in the voter list continues all year round,’ he said, ‘If someone does not reach the age of 18 by the day before the election on 21 Falgun, they will not have their photos taken now. That will also reduce the pressure.’ He claimed that necessary facilitation is being done to manage the pressure seen with the aim of ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to take photos in the voter list.