The government and security agencies have established multi-level mechanisms for security in the upcoming House of Representatives elections. The Ministry of Home Affairs, all four security agencies, the provincial government, and the district administration offices have established security coordination and management mechanisms.

The level-level mechanisms have been instructed to perform their work accordingly as per the Election Security Action Plan-2082 approved by the Central Security Committee meeting chaired by the Home Minister.

A central command post has been formed in the Ministry of Home Affairs under the leadership of Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha, comprising officers of all four security agencies, under the direction and supervision of the Central Security Committee. 

A central joint election cell has been formed under the coordination of Joint Secretary Anand Kafle, who is the head of the Security Coordination Division in the ministry, comprising representatives of the security agencies.

Similarly, the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department have formed election cells in their respective departments that handle ‘operations’ at their head offices. Arrangements have been made for the same mechanism to take ‘briefings’ from subordinate units across the country and implement the instructions from above.

For that, election cells have been formed in the headquarters of the Army, Police, Armed Police Force and Investigation Departments from Alaba Province to district-level units.

To coordinate from the provincial level, a 'Province Command Post' with the provincial security chief under the leadership of the Chief Secretary and a Provincial Election Cell under the leadership of the Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law of the province have been formed in all seven provinces.

In all 77 districts, the security mechanism under the leadership of the Chief District Officer (CDO) has also been activated for election security. According to the Local Administration Act 2028, a District Security Committee is regularly established as a permanent mechanism under the leadership of the CDO. 

The District Election Cell has been activated under the leadership of the CDO for election security. Kafle, spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that all mechanisms from the center to the district level have been activated to conduct the election in a safe, orderly and fear-free environment.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has stated that security management has been arranged according to the strategy prepared in an integrated manner after reviewing the security challenges identified by all four security agencies. A security seminar has also been organized in all seven provinces for election security with the participation of the federal government and the provincial governments.

The Election Commission has designated 11,901 polling stations across the country for the upcoming elections. On the basis of that, the Ministry of Home Affairs has classified the polling stations into three categories based on the risk assessment and analysis received from security agencies and determined the manpower to be deployed.

One-third of the polling stations designated by the Commission have been placed on the highly sensitive list. Of the remaining 4,442 have been designated as sensitive and 2,845 as general polling stations in view of security challenges.

Out of the 15 constituencies in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley, 278 polling stations have been placed on the general, 237 sensitive and 12 polling stations on the highly sensitive list. In Koshi, 647 polling stations have been included in the general, 237 sensitive and 12 highly sensitive lists.

While 159 polling stations have been placed on the general, 755 sensitive and 1246 highly sensitive lists in Madhesh, 437 general, 497 sensitive and 1288 highly sensitive lists have been placed on the Bagmati (excluding the valley) list. The presence of security personnel has been determined based on this list. 

According to Home Ministry sources, 392 general, 577 sensitive and 328 highly sensitive polling stations have been placed in Gandaki, 471 general, 738 sensitive and 358 highly sensitive polling stations in Lumbini, 161 general, 422 sensitive and 358 highly sensitive polling stations in Karnali, and 300 general, 394 sensitive and 481 polling stations in Sudurpaschim have been placed on the highly sensitive list.

The security action plan states that the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police personnel will be mobilized to the polling stations determined in this way. The government is preparing to deploy 325,000 security personnel, including all four security agencies and the election police, in the election.

Based on that, the army is being deployed in the field from a month before the election, while 149,090 election police officers, who will be recruited for election security in addition to the Nepal Police Armed Police, are being mobilized from 25 Magh under the police and the armed forces. 

The government is preparing to appoint election police officers across the country on 15th Magh and mobilize them in the field from 25th Magh. Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, in a press conference at the Home Ministry on 25th Magh, said that the government is committed to making the elections fair and free from fraud. During that meeting, Home Ministry Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha said that election security has been managed without question and arrangements have been made accordingly.

At a program organized on Friday to mark the 25th founding day of the Armed Police Force, Prime Minister Sushila Karki has instructed the heads of security agencies to manage security in such a way that the upcoming elections are completed 'without a single drop of blood being shed and without a single person being injured'.

‘I would like to give instructions to conduct a detailed study of potential security challenges and handle them with high alertness and professionalism,’ said Prime Minister Karki. ‘The government has deployed all its strength to end the current transitional period and maintain sustainable stability in the country and has also decided to mobilize all security organs.’ At the same program, Home Minister Aryal directed to organize security management with confidence, saying that the state will bear responsibility for the work done with good intentions while fulfilling the responsibilities assigned by the state.

The government claims that the security mechanism has been mobilized, citing the changed situation especially after the Gen-G movement, including the Gen-G support group, the fight for existence and competition between new and old parties, the activities of groups that can boycott and obstruct the elections, the inadequacy of vehicles and weapons/ammunition in the security agencies, low manpower in the security agencies, open borders and the risks that may arise from them, and the misuse of social media as the main challenges. However, despite that, the potential for clashes during election-focused meetings/rallies, demonstrations and campaign events and the potential for targeting each other have increased another risk.

Considering the risk created by the Nepal-India open border as the main challenge, polling stations in the border areas from Jhapa to Kanchanpur have been included in the high-risk category. Nepal has an open border of about 1,880 km in length on the Indian side and a controlled concept of 1,414 km in length on the Chinese side. Due to the closed border checkpoints on the Chinese side, it is difficult to move easily.

27 districts on the Indian side and 15 districts on the Chinese side maintain the border. The risk of criminal activities being carried out across the border during the elections has also been included in the security action plan. Kafle, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, says that the government is sensitive to the areas where risks are pointed out and has made necessary strategies and preparations have been made accordingly.