- Saturday, 14 February 2026
Kathmandu, Feb 14: The task of printing the ballots for the House of Representatives (HoR) Member elections to be held on March 5 has reached the final phase.
According to the Election Commission, the printing of ballot papers for the constituencies in the districts surrounding the Kathmandu Valley remains. The ballot paper printing is being carried out regularly at the Janak Educational Materials Centre, Bhaktapur.
The Election Commission said the printing of ballot papers for 133 constituencies in 63 districts has been completed. So far, 17 million 163 thousand ballot papers have been printed, said the Commission’s assistant spokesperson Prakash Neupane.
Now, only the ballot papers for the 14 districts surrounding the Kathmandu Valley are to be printed. The ballot paper printing had been started from January 6.
Assistant spokesperson Neupane stated that it is estimated that the ballot papers for the remaining districts can be printed in three days. The ballot papers already printed have been packed. So far, 15 thousand 371 boxes of ballots have been packed.
Currently, about a thousand boxes of ballot papers are being packed daily and 1.1 to 1.5 million ballots are being printed.
The Election Commission has stated that 20 million 323 thousand ballot papers need to be printed for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) elections. Similarly, the Commission has started sending the printed ballot papers to 12 electoral constituencies in 10 districts of Karnali Province from today.
Assistant Spokesperson Neupane said that ballot papers have been transported to 12 electoral constituencies in 10 districts of Karnali Province, including Salyan, Rukum West, Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Kalikot, Jumla, Jajarkot, Dailekh, and Surkhet.
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02- Mobile service camp organized for Nepali workers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Kathmandu, Feb 14: A day-long mobile health camp has been organized in the Al Khumrah/Sanaiya area of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
According to the Nepali Embassy based in Jeddah, about 100 Nepali workers directly benefited from the camp. The camp was jointly organised by the Nepali Embassy, Jeddah, and the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Regional Coordination Committee, Jeddah.
The medical team supported by the Abeer Group Hospital in Saudi Arabia provided health check-up services at the camp.
The workers visiting the free health camp were provided with eye check-up services, diabetes screening, and consultation services for various diseases.
Similarly, the Embassy stated that at the same camp facilitation has been provided in the required procedures for passport-related services.
At the camp, workers were provided with labour laws and rights awareness, as well as financial literacy. An interaction was also held regarding various issues faced by Nepali workers.
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03- Weather: Fog and mist to occur at some places of Tarai until noon today
Kathmandu, Feb 14: The Westerly wind has general impact in the weather system in Nepal at present. The Meteorological Forecasting Division stated that the weather is partly cloudy throughout the country and fog and mist will occur in some places of the Tarai region until the noon today.
It will be generally cloudy in the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali provinces, while partly cloudy in the remaining hilly and mountainous regions. The weather in Tarai region will mainly remain clear.
The Division has stated that there is a possibility of light rain/snowfall in one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces today.
Tonight, a few areas of the Tarai region will experience fog. The high hilly and mountainous areas of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces will see partly cloudy conditions while the rest of the region will remain mainly clear.
There is a possibility of light rain/snowfall in one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous areas of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces tonight, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division.
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04 – Driver killed after car falls into Phewa Lake
Kaski, Feb 14: A youth died in a road accident in Pokhara this morning. The accident occurred around 2:10 am near Gaira Chautara in Pame, Pokhara Metropolitan City–6, when a car with registration number BAA 1582 fell into the Phewa Lake.
The deceased is the car driver 24-year-old Adit Gurung from Syangja Phedikhola Rural Municipality-5, currently residing at Masbar in Pokhara-7, said Superintendent of Police Basanta Bahadur Singh, the Chief of the Armed Police Force, Kalika Battalion.
After getting news of the car accident in which the driver lost control and the car fell into a pond, a police team of 21 personnel including divers from Kalika Battalion was deployed for rescue under the command of Armed Police Superintendent Singh.
The Armed Police Force, Kalika Battalion stated that the divers’ team rescued the unconscious driver from the lake and took him to Gandaki Medical College for further treatment, where doctors declared him dead.
The police stated that the vehicle was removed from the accident site with the help of a crane and taken to the Ward Police Office in Baidam for further investigation.
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05 – Election Commission to study reasons behind low number of women voters
Kathmandu, Feb 14: Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari has said that the Election Commission will study why the number of women in the total electorate is lower.
Addressing the closing programme of the ‘Election and Mass Communication Workshop and Chief Trainer Training’ organised by the Election Commission here on Friday, he stated that a study has been initiated after observing that although the female population was higher according to the 2078 BS census, it appeared lower in the voter list.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari shared on the occasion that when he visited western Nepal and talked to women aged 50-60, they told him that their names were not on the voter list.
He expressed his commitment to study into this matter and create an environment in the future where such things do not happen.
“The parties have informed the Election Commission that they will present their policies and programmes through manifestos this week. Journalists should study whether the issues desired by the current generation are included or not and report them through news. After the events of September 8 and 9, the Commission has brought the parties that faced in different directions together in one place to create the current election environment,” Bhandari said.
He described the Election Commission, the media and journalists as the two sides of the same coin in the context of conducting elections.
Regarding the topic of Nepalis residing abroad not being able to vote in the March 5’s House of Representatives elections, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari said that such a provision could not be made because there is no law allowing voters living abroad to vote.
Stating that the Election Commission is planning a frugal election, he said the Commission has not received support from foreign development partners this time.Fifty journalists working in the mainstream media participated in the training programme.
At the programme, Commission’s Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai provided training with a presentation on ‘The main activities carried out by the Commission so far for the House of Representatives election 2082’, and Joint Secretary Yagya Prasad Bhattarai imparted training with a presentation on ‘The main provisions in the election code of conduct, the status of implementation, and the code of conduct that media must adhere to’.
Similarly, Joint Secretary Rajendra Kumar KC provided training on ‘Voter Education Special Programme, Sample Ballot, Correct Voting Method, and Circumstances in which Ballots are Invalidated’, while Under Secretary Yogesh Aryal gave a presentation on ‘Information and Knowledge on the Commission-Operated Information System Websites and Social Sites Observation and How to Operate Them’.
Journalist Rajanish Bhandari delivered training on ‘The Role and Responsibilities of the Media in Elections and the Use and Monitoring of Social Media’.
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06- Tourism, infrastructure development and climate change main
election agendas in Manang
Manang, Feb 14: The candidates running in the election for the House of Representatives (HoR) Member from Manang have intensified their election campaign. With 19 days left to go to the polls, candidates here are trying to win support of voters to their side with their respective agendas.
Three parties are going to compete in the election in Manang district which is a single electoral constituency. The main contest will be between the Nepali Congress (NC), the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) and the Mongol National Organisation.
These competing parties have put forward Manang’s tourism sector, infrastructure development, and climate change as their main election agenda.
Nepali Congress candidate Tek Bahadur Gurung said, “Since tourism is the source of income for Manang and development is impossible without the development of road infrastructure, priority has been given to the development of road connectivity in the district as the main election agenda.”
According to him, the aim is to increase income level of the people in Manang by linking the adventurous, historical, and religious areas here with tourism. Gurung added that the plan is to make Manang, which is important for increasing the country’s income levels, a hub for hydroelectric projects as well.
He stated that since Manang, a mountainous region, is more affected by climate change, an agenda to tackle it has been put forth. “To address the impact of climate change, it is necessary to raise awareness among the locals and highlight it in Parliament. This agenda has been set with the aim of protecting the natural beauty of the district from the ill effects of climate change.”
Similarly, Yashoda Subedi Gurung, the candidate of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), said that tourism is the main source of income in Manang and it should be promoted.
“Natural beauty and culture of Manang and the possibilities for adventure tourism here are recognised at the global level. Tourism is the backbone of prosperity for the district. The goal is to conserve it and develop alternative trekking routes,” she said.
Gurung stated that due to road expansion, the risk-prone Annapurna trail has been affected, so the construction of alternative trails has been prioritized. She shared that the goal is to promote Tilicho Lake and other lakes such as the Ice Lake, and the Thorong La Pass, Larkya Pass, and Kang La Pass as major tourist destinations.The competition will be among the old parties – the Nepali Congress and the NCP – in Manang in this election.
This election appears to be different from the competition in the previous election held in 2079 BS. This time the Nepali Congress is supported by the CPN-UML and RPP. The main competitor in this election is, therefore, going to be between the Nepali Congress and the Nepali Communist Party.
According to the District Election Office, Manang, there are a total of seven thousand voters, including 3,623 women and 3,377 men, who will be voting from 29 polling centres.
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