To ensure a free, fair, impartial, and fear-free environment for the upcoming House of Representatives election, four security agencies will be jointly deployed under the coordination of the Nepali Army starting Wednesday, in line with the Integrated Security Plan 2082.
The government has already approved and implemented the House of Representatives Election Integrated Security Plan, 2082, to strengthen law and order during the election period.
With only one month remaining before the election scheduled for Falgun 21, security arrangements are being tightened and made more effective. In accordance with the plan, the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force Nepal, and the National Investigation Department will be mobilized in an integrated manner.
Under the integrated security plan, Election Police recruited specifically for election purposes will also be deployed for election security. Nepal Police and Election Police will be responsible for maintaining security inside polling stations.
The Armed Police Force will take charge of the second layer of the security perimeter and will operate in coordination with the Nepali Army and Nepal Police. The Nepali Army will remain in the outer security perimeter and assume a key role in maintaining overall security.
According to the Army, it will be deployed across all 165 constituencies starting Wednesday for election purposes. President Ram Chandra Paudel granted approval on Mangsir 11, following the recommendation of the Prime Minister and a decision by the Council of Ministers, to deploy the Nepali Army for election security management.
According to Army spokesperson and Assistant Rathi Rajaram Basnet, temporary army bases will be established as required, and joint patrols will be conducted based on necessity. The Army is preparing to mobilize 80,000 personnel for the election.
Basnet said that since the Integrated Security Plan 2082 has been approved and endorsed by the President, troop deployment will proceed accordingly. As guided by the plan, the Army is being deployed in the field starting one month prior to the election.
Troop Mobilization, Voter Statistics, and Security Classification
During the election period, the Army will provide security in three phases. Before the election, the Army will be responsible for the security of ballot paper printing, ballot transportation, polling stations, ballot box transportation, and vote-counting centers.
In coordination with Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, the Nepali Army will also secure airports, prisons, and other critical infrastructure. During voting, the Army will remain in the third security perimeter at polling stations and centers, ensuring full security for political parties, candidates, voters, and election staff.
A total of 3,406 candidates are contesting the upcoming election. The Election Commission of Nepal has enforced the election code of conduct since Magh 4. For the election, a total of 18,903,689 voters have been registered, including 9,240,131 women, 9,663,358 men, and 200 others.
Nationwide, 10,967 polling stations and 23,112 polling centers have been designated. Nepal Police will deploy 77,000 personnel for election duties. As the existing police force alone is insufficient, 133,000 Election Police have been recruited.
Polling stations have been categorized as normal, sensitive, and highly sensitive, and security arrangements have been made accordingly. A total of 2,845 polling stations are classified as normal, 4,442 as sensitive, and 3,680 as highly sensitive.
According to police authorities, regular deployments have already been carried out to strengthen security at these locations. From the Armed Police Force, 49,686 personnel—comprising 34,576 regular personnel and 15,110 Election Police—will be deployed.
The Armed Police Force said high alert has been adopted to prevent any untoward incidents, with units deployed to reach any incident site within 10 minutes under any circumstances.
