Bidhya Sundar Shakya (CPN-UML)

Kathmandu, May 14

Brisk polling was witnessed since early morning at all the voting booths across the Valley during the first phase of local elections held today.

Long lines of enthusiastic voters were in almost all the polling stations. Top political leaders, mayoral candidates and celebrities also cast their votes.

CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli cast his vote from Balkot polling centre in Suryabinayak Municipality, Bhaktapur.

Nepal Workers and Peasants Party Chair Narayan Man Bijukchhe cast his vote from Bidhyarthi Niketan polling centre in Bhaktapur. Likewise, Minister for Health Gagan Thapa cast his vote from Maitidevi polling centre.

Similarly, KMC mayoral candidate from the Nepali Congress Raju Raj Joshi cast his vote from Makhan polling center, UML mayoral candidate  Bidhya Sundar Shakya from Lagan, CPN-MC mayoral candidate Sarbottam Dangol from Kalimati polling booth, Sajha Party mayoral candidate Kishor Thapa from Balkhu polling centre and Bibeksheel Nepali Party’s candidate Ranju Darshana cast her vote from Maharajgunj polling centre.

Former king Gyanendra Shah and his family did not cast their votes. In a message posted in Facebook, Shah wrote that he would not vote as all Nepali people were equal for him.

Actress Rekha Thapa cast her vote from Chabahil. Actress Karishma Manandhar could not vote as her name was not in the voter list.

Similarly,  98-year-old  national poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire cast his vote from Lainchaur Kanya Secondary School polling center. His 83-year-old wife also cast her  vote from the same polling centre.

Talking to THT after casting his vote,  Ghimire said he felt that the country had entered a new era. “I hope the local government formed after this election will serve the people better,” he said.

Gita Subedi, a resident of Kirtipur Municipality-2, said she was very excited at the opportunity to vote for candidates of local levels.  “This is the first time that I cast my votes in local polls,” she said, adding that the polling centre near the building of Kirtipur Municipality was well-managed and she only had to wait for half an hour to cast her vote. “There were separate lines for women, men and elderly citizens which made voting easy,” she said.

Subedi, however, said overly long size of the ballot paper confused elderly voters. “Many people complained about the size of the ballot papers. So there are chances of votes being invalid,” she said.

Former mayor of Kirtipur Municipality Hirakaji Maharjan said he was encouraged by the participation of voters. He, however, said many voters complained of the size of ballot papers.

Voters of all age groups including differently-abled and  some people who were observing the mourning period also cast their votes from various polling centres.