Kathmandu, Feb 8: The government has put a countrywide election security plan into action for the March 5 House of Representatives election, as authorities deal with risks linked to unrecovered weapons and inmates who escaped during the September 8 and 9 Gen Z protests.
Under the Integrated Security Plan 2026, all four security bodies, the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and the National Investigation Department, have been mobilised, along with a large number of temporary election police.
Security forces have already moved into sensitive areas. Army units have been on the ground for weeks and have started setting up election security posts, including one in Upper Mustang. The Armed Police Force has stepped up patrols, while election police have joined field duties across districts.
Joint operations are underway to recover stolen arms and track down fugitives ahead of polling day, alongside broader steps to keep the election environment calm.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki has said the government will ensure peaceful polls and will not allow violence during the campaign or voting period.
Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal said efforts to arrest escaped prisoners have intensified and claimed that many of them have already been traced.
Around 71,000 Nepal Police personnel will be on election duty. Special election cells are operating at the central, provincial, and district levels, with coordination led by security committees under the Home Ministry.
The Nepali Army will deploy about 80,000 troops, and the Armed Police Force will deploy about 35,000 personnel across all 77 districts and 165 constituencies. Patrols will cover all 753 local units using vehicles and foot teams. In addition, roughly 130,000 temporary election police will guard polling centres, mainly in the innermost security ring.
In total, more than 320,000 security personnel will take part in election duties.
Out of 11,901 polling stations, authorities have marked 4,614 as high risk, 4,442 as sensitive, and 2,845 as low risk. Rapid response teams will stand by at the most sensitive sites.
Security agencies have flagged booth capture, voter pressure, and unrest by protest groups as main concerns. They are also watching boycott calls by royalist activist Durga Prasai and several small communist parties.
Plainclothes officers and community policing teams are monitoring campaigns and local tensions, with forces instructed to act against violations of the election code.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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