Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Keshab Raj Rajbhandari (File Photo)

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Keshab Raj Rajbhandari (File Photo)
As opposition political parties step up their anti-election rhetoric, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Keshab Raj Rajbhandari has said that voting will take place at any cost.

Addressing a seminar of election officers of nine western districts in Pokhara Saturday, Rajbhandari said, “It is the choice of the people to vote or not to vote. Nobody has right to stop the voters from using their rights.” He said the Election Commission was committed to hold the February 8 municipal elections in a free and fair manner and that the EC would not remain silent if attempts were made to disrupt the polls.

He claimed that the government, political parties, security forces and the media had been cooperative to the EC in preparing for the polls.

“There has been coordination and cooperation between the political parties and the Commission. It’s no use exaggerating the differences,” he said, instructing the election officials to put all effort to conduct the polls successfully. “Elections will take place at any cost,” the CEC asserted.

Senior government officials based in the western region were present in the two-day seminar of election officers.

Seven opposition political parties and the CPN (Maoist) that signed a 12-point understanding last month have already declared to ‘actively’ boycott the elections. The Maoists in a statement on Friday declared a shutdown strike during the elections and warned of action against anybody contesting the elections.