Nepal
Ballot boxes and other election materials procured by JICS were utilized in the Second Constituent Assembly Election
January 7, 2014
(Copy right: GorkaPatra- GorkaPatra Online on November 20, 2013)
In the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (hereinafter referred to as “Nepal”), it is an urgent issue to take firm steps toward more peaceful and democratic country through successfully conducting the Constitution Assembly Election and establishing their national constitution. In this background, Nepal requested Japan for a grant aid to purchase election materials to be used in polling centers in the coming election scheduled on November 19, 2013. Upon this request, both Nepalese and Japanese governments agreed to provision of Japan's Grant Aid for Conflict Prevention and Peace Building worth JPY149 million, for the implementation of the Project for Assistance to the Constituent Assembly Election, and accordingly Japan extended the grant to Nepal.
JICS' role under the project was to procure election materials for the project as procurement agent of the Nepalese Government (Election Commission of Nepal: ECN).
JICS was required to implement the project management including selection of and contracting with the suppliers of the materials and fund management of the grant, under time constraint up to the impending election. The following are the items procured by JICS under the project:
| Name of Item | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballot Box Sticker | Two colors, light blue ones for First-Past-The-Post (FPTP), light red ones for Proportional Representation (PR). The stickers were affixed on the both side of each ballot box, for identification of the two different elections. |
| 2 | Table Top Voting Booth | Two colors, light blue ones for FPTP and light red ones for PR. |
| 3 | Security Seal for Ballot Box | Plastic bands to firmly seal a lid of each ballot box, for prevention of manipulating acts. |
| 4 | Ballot Box | Only boxes for PR election (For FPTP, Nepal has stock of ballot boxes which were procured under Japanese grant aid in 2008). |
Ballot box stickers (light red color)
Table Top Voting Booth (Light blue color)
Security seals (Light green color)
Ballot Box
Critical factor for success of the project was timely delivery of the materials. In their planning, the Nepalese Government intended to gather all the materials including those of our project into the warehouse of ECN located in Kathmandu (capital city) and then to distribute them to 75 district level offices, which would finally transport them to polling centers, approximately 18,000 places nation-wide. As neighboring nations and UN organizations also donated other election materials than those of our project, ECN was responsible to handle large scale logistical operations. In order to prevent delayed delivery to polling centers or mistakes in delivered quantity at polling centers, ECN had been planning the distribution schedule in very elaborate manners.
JICS' scope was to deliver the materials to the warehouse of ECN, and was required to deliver all the materials to the destination within October, to be in time for the further operations by ECN for the election on November 19.
JICS swiftly completed the selection processes and made contracts with the suppliers. As it resulted that all the materials were to be imported from overseas, JICS also executed coordination with the suppliers over the delivery schedules on international flight and land transportation, assisted the suppliers for smooth customs clearance, and assisted ECN in inspection on the materials in the premises of ECN. Facing troubles of frequently changing delivery schedules, we had to intensively negotiate with the suppliers for securing timely delivery. Consequently, all the contracted materials were completely delivered in time for Nepalese operations of further domestic distribution to all the polling centers.
On October 22, 2013, handing over ceremony was held in presence of Mr. Shuichi Sakakibara, Chargé d' affaires, and Dr. Rambahkta PB Thakur, Commissioner of ECN. In that opportunity, the Nepalese Government showed gratitude for the assistance from Japan, coming continuously after the assistance in the election in 2008.
On November 19, 2013, the voting was implemented nation-wide without disruption and the media such as local TV stations, newspapers widely broadcasted the images of the election materials being used at polling centers. We expect that this successful voting will lead to further democratization in Nepal in the future.
PR election voting
FPTP election voting
（Copy right: Embassy of Japan in Nepal）
Basic Information of This Project
| Project Name | Project for Assistance to the Constituent Assembly Election | ||||||
| Grant Amount | ¥149 million | ||||||
| Date of E/N | July 24, 2013 | ||||||
| Date of A/A | September 9, 2013 | ||||||
| Agent Agreement Counterparty | Election Commission of Nepal (ECN), Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | ||||||
| Project Profile | Procurement of the election materials to be used at approximately 18,000 polling centers in the Constituent Assembly Election on November 19, 2013. | ||||||
| JICS' s Role | Procurement agent to implement the project management including procurement of the materials and management of the grant fund. | ||||||
| Procured Items |
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| Progress of the Project |
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