Nepal elections pass off largely peacefully, total turnout 61%: CEC

Nepal on Sunday held largely peaceful elections to the federal Parliament and provincial Assemblies with some cases of violent clashes between party cadres reported, while voters' participation, according to initial estimates, remained much lower than expected.

The elections for the members of the federal Parliament and provincial Assemblies concluded at 5 p.m.

Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya said that total turnout of Sunday's election was 61 per cent.

"We are hoping this is a preliminary data... this percentage could climb slightly," Thapaliya said at press conference after completion of the elections.

"The commission is also surprised to see lower voting turnout. We are also looking into the reason behind low turnout, but we have not reached any certain conclusion yet," he added.

One person died and elections were postponed or suspended in 15 polling stations, Thapaliya said, adding that the elections werre concluded largely peaceful besides some sporadic incidents of clashes.

As soon as election results are out, the process of new government formation will begin in the Himalayan nation. Thapaliya said that it will take eight days to complete the vote counting. The voter turnout in the last elections in 2017 was around 70 per cent.

According to observers, the lower turnout this time can be taken as a growing frustration among voters.

--IANS

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