Nepal elections: Vote counting begins amid tight security

The ruling Nepali Congress won the first House of Representatives seat on Monday, as counting of votes for parliamentary and provincial elections began amid tight security.

The counting began at 7 a.m. local time and will continue until 5 p.m., a day after approximately 61% of the Himalayan nation voted.

Officials from the Election Commission, party representatives, and members of the media are present at the polling stations.

The Himalayan Times reported that voting has begun in Kathmandu’s constituencies 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7, as well as all constituencies in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

Counting has also begun in Kaski, Jhapa, Mustang, Saptari, Banke, Rupandehi, and Nawalparasi west, according to the report.

The Nepali Congress (NC) has established an account after its candidate Yogesh Gauchan Thakali was elected to the House of Representatives from Mustang.

According to the Election Commission, Gauchan received 3,992 votes, while his closest rival Prem Tulachan of the CPN-UML received 3,078.

Taplejung’s vote counting has been postponed due to helicopter companies’ inability to airlift ballot boxes from remote areas in the district.

The District Election Management Committee stated that the ballot boxes for the Paktanglung Rural Municipality Wards 6 and 7 polling stations of Olangchungola, Yangma, Gybla, and Ghunsa are being transported by land route, according to Republica newspaper.

Yangma is the district’s most remote polling station. In four days, the voting team walked from Fungling to Yangma, which is located at an elevation of 4,200 metres. In the area, 12 of the total 61 votes were cast.

Meanwhile, four police officers were killed and eight others were injured on Monday morning when their jeep veered off a hilly road near Ningladi stream in Patan Municipality, Baitadi district.

According to police, the officers were returning to duty after handing over the ballot boxes at the district headquarters.

The polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday and closed at 5 p.m. Voter turnout was significantly lower than in the previous two elections, with 77% in 2013 and 78% in 2017.

More than 17.9 million people were eligible to vote in the election of a 275-member House of Representatives and provincial legislatures.

165 of the 275 Members of Parliament will be elected directly, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system.