Election Day Update: Kathmandu and the 77 Districts Go to the Polls

Kathmandu. Voting is taking place today for the House of Representatives member election, held under special circumstances following the Gen Z movement. Voting will occur in a single phase across all 77 districts of the country from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

This is the third election for the House of Representatives since the country entered a Federal Democratic Republic. Previous elections were held in 2074 and 2079 B.S. Today, elections will be held for 165 constituencies under the "First Past the Post" (direct) system and 110 seats under the proportional representation system.

Under the direct system, 65 political parties are competing across 61 election symbols. There are 3,406 candidates in the electoral race for the direct system, consisting of 3,017 men, 388 women, and one other. Similarly, under the proportional representation system, 3,135 candidates are competing, including 1,363 men and 1,772 women.

In this election, there are 18,903,689 voters, including 9,663,358 men, 9,240,131 women, and 200 others. Additionally, the Election Commission stated that 186,142 temporary voters have been maintained. For the election, 23,112 polling centers have been designated across 10,967 polling stations nationwide. 

Likewise, 143 temporary polling stations have been set up. The Election Commission has stated that arrangements have been made to prioritize senior citizens, persons with disabilities, the infirm, and pregnant women for easy voting.

For election security, 79,727 Nepal Army personnel, 75,797 Nepal Police, 34,567 Armed Police Force, 1,921 National Investigation Department personnel, and 149,090 election police have been deployed. A total of 215,000 employees are being deployed to conduct the election. The Commission has printed a total of 42,251,200 ballot papers for both direct and proportional systems and delivered them to the respective polling centers.

In this election, four international and 39 national organizations are involved in observation. President Ram Chandra Paudel, Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister Sushila Karki, and Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, among others, have already called for enthusiastic participation and voting in the election process.