KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

Voting is in progress at the designated polling stations and centres in the capitals of the seven provinces for electing 19 members of the National Assembly (NA). The 19 seats in the Upper House of the Federal Parliament are falling vacant on March 4.

The Election Commission has fixed 9.00am to 3.00 pm today for voting. It stated that counting of votes would be started immediately after the voting concludes.

Election Commission's deputy spokesperson Shreedhar Panthi said voting is under way in all the seven provinces.

According to him, the election results would be announced today itself. The electoral college comprising the Province Assembly members and the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of rural municipalities, and the mayors and deputy mayors of the urban municipalities will take part in the voting.

A single vote of the Province Assembly member has a weightage of 53 and that of the chair and vice-chair of rural municipalities and mayor and deputy-mayor of urban municipalities carries a weightage of 19. The total vote weightage is 57 thousand 559.

Two thousand and forty-seven voters, including 549 Province Assembly members and 1,498 chair and vice-chair of rural municipalities and mayor and deputy-mayor of urban municipalities will cast their votes in the election.