Voting in the first phase of federal and provincial elections finished mostly peacefully apart from cancellation of voting at a couple of polling centers.
Voter turnout was over 65 percent, the Election Commission (EC) announced organizing a press conference Sunday evening. Bajura recorded the highest turnout at 80 percent, Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav informed during the press conference.
Voting for proportional representation (PR) for provincial assembly at the polling center in Rashtriya Secondary School in Aathbiskot of Rukum has been cancelled after pouring of acid in the ballot box for PR system. Similarly, voting for first past the post (FPTP) system for federal parliament has been cancelled at the pollinc center in Banfikot, Rukum after cadres of Netra Bikram Chand led Communist Party of Nepal torched the ballot box for the FPTP system.
Similarly, two polling centers in upper Dolpa have yet to come into contact with the office of the chief returning officer.
Voting in the 32 districts was held from seven in the morning till five in the evening. A total of 282 candidates are fighting in 37 federal constituencies and 420 candidates in 74 provincial constituencies in the first past the post (FPTP) system.
The 32 districts that went for voting today include mountainous and hilly districts in all provinces except Province 2 that is an all-plain province. The 32 districts going for voting today are Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Okhaldhunga, Taplejung, Panchthar and Khotang of Province 1; Nuwakot, Dhading, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha and Ramechhap of Province 3; Mustang, Myagdi, Baglung, Manang, Lamjung, and Gorkha of Province 4; Rolpa and Eastern Rukum of Province 5; Western Rukum, Jajarkot, Humla, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot and Dolpa of Province 6; and Darchula, Bajhang, Bajura and Baitadi of Province 7.
The ballot boxes will be collected at the respective district headquarters where it will be kept under three-tier security for 11 days. Counting will start together across the country after voting in the second phase scheduled for December 7.
