Nepal deploys army ahead of March 5 polls, first since Gen-Z protests ousted Oli govt – Firstpost

Nepal on Wednesday started deploying thousands of army troops across the country to bolster security for the next month’s general elections – the first since last year’s deadly Gen-Z protests that toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led coalition government.

The troops have been mobilised with a view to conducting the elections in a free, fair and fearless environment, a Nepal Army spokesperson said.

“Security personnel from all four security agencies have been mobilised under the coordination of the Nepal Army as per the government’s decision,” he added.

Around 340,000 security personnel, including 80,000 army personnel, will be deployed across the country for the purpose of election security. The security personnel will guard around 10,800 polling stations and 23,100 polling booths spread across 165 constituencies.

They will also guard sensitive places such as the airport and other important government offices under the integrated security plan.

President Ramchandra Paudel had approved the government’s recommendation to deploy the army for the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5.

The government has implemented the House of Representatives Election Integrated Security Plan to strengthen the law and order situation during the election.  Under the plan, personnel from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and National Investigation Department will be deployed in an integrated manner.  There will be three-tier security systems for conducting the general election.

The Nepal Police and temporarily hired election police will make the first circle, while the Armed Police Force personnel will be deployed as the second circle of the security plan. The army personnel will be deployed in the third or outer circle as per the integrated security plan, according to sources.

The army will also establish a security base and conduct joint patrolling.