Kathmandu: A delegation from the Election Commission of India led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Sunday observed the general elections in Nepal and visited several polling stations. Nepal went to polls to elect a new parliament and provincial assemblies amid tight security, hoping to end the political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation for more than a decade and impeded growth.
Federal and Provincial polls were held on Sunday to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives and 550 seats of the seven Provincial Assemblies. Kumar, 62, was leading a four-member delegation, including two officials from the Election Commission of India.
Foreign election observers supervised the polling centres of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, MyRepublica news portal reported. Forty-six organisations were assigned to supervise the polls, in which a team including officials from the election commissions of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and South Korea supervised the election on Sunday, it said.
While Kumar led the Indian team, Bangladesh's delegation was led by its Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal. Similarly, Bhutan CEC Sonam Topgay and Maldives Election Commission President Fuwad Thowfeek supervised the elections in Nepal. A team -- including two Sri Lankan election commissioners MM Mohammad and SB Divaratne; and South Korean Election Commissioner Kim Chang-Bo -- also supervised the polls, the report said.
Nepal's Election Commission Act allows any domestic or foreign person or organisation to supervise the works related to the election. The persons and organisations engaged in supervision observed the issues related to legitimacy, independence, fairness, neutrality and equality of the election, it said.
Meanwhile, about 61 per cent polling was recorded on Sunday in Nepal's parliament and provincial assemblies elections, marred by sporadic violence and clashes that left one person dead and disrupted voting at several polling stations, officials said. The polling started at 7 am local time at over 22,000 polling centres and closed at 5 pm. "The nationwide voter turnout has stood at around 61 per cent. This is likely to increase slightly as we continue receiving details from districts across the country," Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya told reporters.
"This is certainly less than what we had expected," he added. The voter turnout is significantly lower as compared to the past two elections - 77 per cent in 2013, and 78 per cent in 2017. More than 17.9 million voters were eligible to cast their votes to elect a 275-member House of Representatives and provincial assemblies. Thapaliya said the elections were held largely in a peaceful manner except for a "few minor incidents. He said that voting has been postponed in 15 polling stations in four districts as a result of such incidents. (PTI)
