KATHMANDU, APRIL 23

According to the Election Commission, the voting held today for elections to seats rendered vacant in the House of Representatives in Tanahun-1, Bara-2 and Chitwan-2 was completed peacefully.

"Voting has been completed and the collection of ballot boxes has already started," EC Spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Poudel told THT. He said the voting was completed peacefully in all the three constituencies except for some sporadic incidents.

According to the Commission, the counting of votes will probably start tonight after the collection of ballot boxes.

In Bara, four people from other districts who were said to have come near the polling station were detained. According to Poudel, 54.03 per cent votes were cast in that constituency last November. As per preliminary report, the votes cast were slightly less than in the by-election. He also informed that voting had been completed and collection of ballot boxes had started.

The Commission said the ballot boxes would be collected in Damauli, the district headquarters of Tanahun and counted in the District Coordination Committee hall.

Authorities informed that there were about seven per cent fewer votes compared to the election held in Chitwan-2 on November 20. According to Assistant Electoral Officer Ishwor Acharya, 67 per cent votes were cast there last November, while only 60 per cent votes were cast in the by-election. Ballot boxes have also been collected in Chitwan. Likewise, the voting has been completed in Bara and the collection of ballot boxes has started.

The by-elections for new MPs were held after Ramchandra Paudel elected from Tanahun-1 became the president and Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav elected from Bara-2 became the vice-president.

Rabi Lamichhane, who was elected from Chitwan-2, participated in by-polls after the Supreme Court dismissed his candidacy over citizenship dispute.

While the voting process was going on, it was interrupted for more than three hours due to a dispute between Rabi Lamichhane and other party supporters at Naya Kiran Secondary School in Chitwan this afternoon. Rabi Lamichhane's supporters raised slogans in his favour as police used force outside the school premises to control the dispute.

A total of 22 candidates from 12 parties and 10 independent candidates are competing in Chitwan-2 by-election. In Bara-2 there are 34 candidates, including 10 political parties and 24 independent candidates. In Tanahun-1, nine candidates are competing from all political parties. The government had given public holiday in all the three constituencies for the by-elections.

In Tanahun-1, the Commission has reported that the number of voters had decreased. In Bara-2, 105,248 votes were cast, while in Chitwan-2, 124,695 votes were cast. Likewise, in Tanahun-1, 123,305 votes were cast. According to the Commission, voting was held in 427 polling centres of 194 polling stations.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 24, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.