Millions head to polling stations as elections begin in Nepal

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – Millions of people began voting on Sunday to choose representatives for national and provincial assemblies in Nepal.

The elections in the Himalayan nation are being held to elect 275 members to the House of Representatives and 550 members to Nepal’s seven provincial assemblies.

According to Nepal's Election Commission, around 18 million people are eligible to vote in the country, which had 10 different governments since the abolition of a 239-year-old monarchy in 2008.

On Sunday, the Election Commission began the voting at 7a.m. local time which would conclude at 5 p.m.

A major issue in the election is Nepal's economy, which has slowed down, triggering higher inflation.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also cast his ballot and asked people to participate in the voting.

Local media also reported sporadic incidents of violence in various parts of the country.

Local English daily Kathmandu Post said that vote counting would begin at 8 p.m. on Sunday and the results are expected in the coming days.

The Election Commission said 2,412 candidates are competing for 165 of the 275 seats in the House under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. The remaining members will be elected through proportional representation. In FPTP systems, the winning candidate is simply the person who wins most votes. A candidate could be elected with two votes, if every other candidate only secured a single vote.

In provincial elections, more than 3,220 candidates are vying for 330 provincial assembly seats under the FPTP system, while 220 will be elected through proportional representation.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, 76, who heads the Nepali Congress party (NC), is seeking a return to power and has allied with the Maoist Centre Party, the leading group of former Maoist rebels. The alliance is in direct competition with another alliance led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) – the main opposition party led by former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

Both alliances have promised to create a large number of jobs if voted into power.

Political experts in the country are expecting the Nepali Congress party to emerge as the leading party.