By Press Trust of India: About 61 per cent polling was recorded on Sunday in Nepal’s parliament and provincial assemblies elections, marred by sporadic violence and clashes that left one individual lifeless and disrupted voting at a number of polling stations, officers stated.
The polling began at 7 am native time at over 22,000 polling centres and closed at 5 pm.
“The nationwide voter turnout has stood at around 61 per cent. This is likely to increase slightly as we continue receiving details from districts across the country,” Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya instructed reporters.
“This is certainly less than what we had expected,” he added.
The voter turnout is considerably decrease as in comparison with the previous two elections – 77 per cent in 2013, and 78 per cent in 2017.
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More than 17.9 million voters had been eligible to forged their votes to elect a 275-member House of Representatives and provincial assemblies.
Thapaliya stated the elections had been held largely in a peaceable method apart from a “few minor incidents”. He said that voting has been postponed in 15 polling stations in four districts as a result of such incidents.
He said the Election Commission has directed the concerned election offices in those districts to make necessary arrangements to hold the elections within two days.
The counting of votes will start tonight itself in three districts of Kathmandu Valley, he said, adding that the counting will end within a week.
One person was killed after being shot dead at a polling station in Nateshwari Basic School of Tribeni Municipality in Bajura. The 24-year-old man was shot dead by the police following a dispute between two groups after the voting was over, officials said.
A minor explosion took place near Sharda Secondary School polling station in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City in Kailali district. However, there was no casualty, they said, adding that voting continued in the polling station despite the incident with just half-an-hour interruption.
Some incidents of heated arguments between party cadres were reported from 11 areas in Dhangadi, Gorkha and Dolakha districts. However, it did not affect the polling, they said.
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Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) president Sher Bahadur Deuba cast his ballot in his home district Dadeldhura. He voted at the Ashigram Secondary School polling centre at Ruwakhola in Ganyapdhura rural municipality-1 in the morning. Deuba had studied at this school.
Deuba has continuously won the election from Dadeldhura since 1991. He is running for the federal parliament member for the seventh time in this election, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chairman and former prime minister K P Sharma Oli cast his ballot at the polling centre situated in Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur district near Kathmandu.
Talking to reporters after casting his vote, Oli said that his CPN-UML-led alliance will secure a clear majority and form the next government by December 1.
“The UML will type a majority authorities, or not less than a coalition authorities comprising events which have cast an alliance with us within the elections,” he said.
CPN-Maoist Centre chairman and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” cast his vote at the polling centre located at Bharatpur Municipality in Chitawan district.
“It is almost definitely that the subsequent authorities can be shaped underneath the management of the Nepali Congress and I’ll contest for the put up of Parliamentary Party chief to ahead my declare for the highest govt place,” NC normal secretary Gagan Thapa stated after casting his vote in Kathmandu constituency No. 4.
Another NC chief and former deputy prime minister Prakash Man Singh stated the leaders of the five-party alliance will sit collectively to determine who will lead the subsequent authorities and chalk out the long run plan of action.
Out of a complete of 275 Members of Parliament, 165 can be elected by way of direct voting, whereas the remaining 110 can be elected by way of a proportional electoral system.
At the identical time, voters additionally voted to elect representatives to seven provincial assemblies.
Out of a complete of 550 members of the provincial assemblies, 330 can be elected immediately and 220 can be elected by way of the proportional methodology.
Political observers carefully watching the elections have predicted a hung parliament and a authorities that’s unlikely to supply the required political stability in Nepal.
Political instability has been a recurrent characteristic of Nepal’s Parliament because the finish of the decade-long Maoist insurgency, and no prime minister has served a full time period after the civil struggle resulted in 2006.
The frequent modifications and combating amongst events have been blamed for the nation’s sluggish financial development.
There are two main political alliances contesting the polls — the ruling Nepali Congress-led democratic and leftist alliance and the CPN-UML-led leftist and pro-Hindu, pro-monarchy alliance.
Nepali Congress led by Prime Minister Deuba, 76, has shaped an electoral alliance with former Maoist guerrilla chief ‘Prachanda’, 67, towards former premier Oli, 70.
The Nepali Congress-led ruling alliance consists of CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN-Unified Socialist, and Madhes-based Loktantrik Samajwadi Party whereas the CPN-UML-led alliance consists of pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Madhes-based Janata Samajwadi Party.
The subsequent authorities will face challenges of maintaining a steady political administration, reviving the tourism trade and balancing ties with neighbours — China and India.
Out of a complete of two,412 candidates contesting the election for federal Parliament, 867 are independents.
Among the main political events, the CPN-UML has fielded 141 candidates whereas the Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre have fielded 91 and 46 candidates respectively.
Security has been stepped up in all 77 districts throughout the nation with air-patrolling round polling stations and shutting of worldwide borders for 72 hours.
Published On:
Nov 21, 2022
