Polls held in Nepal for central, provincial parliaments

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Voting began to elect Nepal's parliament and the provincial assemblies on Sunday in the country's northern 32 mountainous and hilly districts.

The first phase will be followed by another round of elections, which will take place on December 7, in the remaining 45 districts of southern plain and hilly districts.

Despite a number of bomb blasts targeting the candidates and their campaigns in the run-up to the elections, Nepal's Election Commission (EC) said the voting is taking place peacefully in all districts where polls are being held with exciting participation of voters.

Officers from Nepal's Election Commission work on setting up a polling station during the parliamentary and provincial elections at Chautara in Sindhupalchok District, Nepal, November 26, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"There is no report of disturbances in polls in the early hours of voting," EC spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal told reporters.

Former speaker of Nepal's parliament Ram Chandra Poudel, former Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, another former Finance Minister Barsaman Pun, former Home Minister Janardan Sharma and former Information and Communication Minister Sher Dhan Rai were targeted but not harmed in the recent spate of attacks.

Nepal's Home Ministry on Saturday said "effective and reliable" security has been arranged for the polls, urging voters to participate in the elections without fear.

Voting is taking place to elect the federal legislatures at central and provincial levels as envisioned by Nepal's new Constitution promulgated in September 2015.

The Himalayan country earlier held local elections as the first step toward implementing the new constitution.

People walk along a street filled with the flags of various political parties during the parliamentary and provincial elections in Sindhupalchok District, Nepal, November 26, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"Elections for federal parliament and provincial assembly are an important step towards implementing the constitution which was promulgated by the Constituent Assembly for the first time in Nepal's history," Lokraj Baral, a political scientist, said on Sunday.

Nepal is holding the two elections together because of constitutional provision under which all polls have to be concluded by January 21, 2018.

There are around 15.4 million eligible voters in the country. As many as 702 candidates are contesting both polls under a first-past-the-post election system. There are 5,838 candidates under proportional election system for both phases of elections, according to Nepal's election authority.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency