SC orders re-poll in Bharatpur-19

Kathmandu / July 30: The Supreme Court on Sunday upheld the Election Commission’s decision to conduct re-polling in Ward 19 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City.

A division bench of Justices Om Prakash Mishra and Purushottam Bhandari quashed the writ petition filed by CPN-UML ward member candidate for Bharatpur-19 Gunjaman BK, and advocate Tulsiram Pandey against the EC decision to conduct re-election.

The EC had ordered re-polling after two CPN-MC representatives allegedly tore 90 ballot papers on May 29 following which the counting was halted.

A single bench of Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana on June 5 had issued an interim order telling the EC not to implement its June 2 decision to hold re-polling in Bharatpur Metropolis-19.

The election in Bharatpur metropolis has been keenly observed nationwide after Maoist Center fielded Renu Dahal, the daughter of Prime Minster Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as its mayoral candidate for the metropolis forging an electoral alliance with the Nepali Congress (NC).

Before the incident, CPN UML’s mayoral candidate Devi Gyawali was leading the poll by 733 votes. While Gyawali had received a total of 41,641 votes, Maoist Center’s candidate Renu Dahal was trailing behind him with 40,908 votes.