Day: August 15, 2022

  • Election Commission Nepal mulls reducing campaign duration to 15 days

    Election Commission Nepal mulls reducing campaign duration to 15 days

    With the general and provincial elections announced for November 20, the Election Commission has expedited its preparations endorsing the poll schedule for its own use.

    In the internal schedule of the commission, the election commission has scheduled the first-past-the-post (FPTP) candidacy registration for October 9-12 after the Dashain festival.

    However, the political parties will be asked to submit their closed lists for the proportional representation (PR) electoral system on September 18-19. On September 27, election officers will be appointed and election offices will be set up on October 7.

    On November 20, the voting will take place all over Nepal from 7am to 5pm. The internal schedule has been endorsed for internal use, and there are chances of amendment if required, the officials say.

    The commission started registering political parties from August 7. Until Saturday, as many as 40 parties had been registered at the commission, Surya Prasad Aryal, information officer and assistant spokesperson for the Election Commission, said.

    According to him, discussions are underway to demand funds from the Finance Ministry. The work of modifying policies and directives is also underway.

  • 119 suspects arrested for arson in Portugal

    119 suspects arrested for arson in Portugal

    LISBON: A total of 119 suspects have been arrested for the crime of arson this year as serious fires hit Portugal due to a heat wave and severe drought, causing consequences for agriculture and other primary supply systems.

    “We have this year a detention rate that is already much more than double that of the previous years” as a result of inspection work carried out jointly by the military police, the National Republican Guard, and the Judiciary Police said the Portuguese Minister of Internal Administration Jose Luis Carneiro on Sunday.

    Speaking at an event in the city of Leiria, central Portugal, Carneiro revealed that “other investigations are underway to detect the causes of other fires, which could lead to other arrests.”

    This year, the government strengthened “the inspection and surveillance mechanisms,” in conjunction with the Air Force, in addition to installing 230 fixed lookout posts and video surveillance, the minister added.

    Carneiro expressed “unconditional” solidarity with the firefighters who fight the fires.

    According to Portuguese law, forests are not allowed to be used for construction or other usage. Xinhua