KATHMANDU, MARCH 5
Voting in the House of Representatives (HoR) election concluded peacefully across the country today, with only minor incidents reported.
Polling began at 7:00 am and ended at 5:00 pm as scheduled, according to the Election Commission. Election Commissioner Dr Janaki Kumari Tuladhar said voters who were still in queues at polling centres by the deadline were allowed to cast their ballots.
The commission said no polling centre was officially suspended, although minor disputes were reported in Dolakha, Sarlahi and Rautahat. Voting was briefly halted at the Malu polling centre in Tamakoshi-4, Dolakha, but later resumed.
A total of 18,903,689 voters, including 186,142 temporary voters, were eligible to participate in the election held for 165 seats under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system and 110 seats under the proportional representation (PR) system.
Under the direct system, 3,406 candidates-including 3,017 men, 388 women and one other-contested from 65 political parties using 61 election symbols. Meanwhile, 3,135 candidates-including 1,363 men and 1,772 women-competed under the proportional representation system.
For the election, 23,112 polling centres were set up across 10,967 polling locations, along with 143 temporary polling stations. Priority voting arrangements were made for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and pregnant women.
To ensure security, personnel from the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, National Investigation Department and election police were deployed nationwide.
Meanwhile, vote counting is set to begin soon in Kathmandu district. Preliminary estimates suggest a 60–65 percent voter turnout in Kathmandu.
Chief Election Officer Churaman Khadka said ballot boxes will be collected at the respective election offices, after which the counting process will commence.
