Nepal general elections:voting underway, counting tonight

In Nepal, voting for the twin elections are underway throughout the country on Sunday.  During general elections in the Himalayan nation, people will elect 275 members of the house of representatives for both parliamentary and provincial assemblies. Members of the legislature will be elected by two methods, 165 members will be elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and the other remaining 110 members will be elected from a single nationwide constituency. Voters will receive separate ballot papers for the two methods.
More than 17.9 million people are eligible to vote in seven provinces across Nepal. A total of 84 parties have applied at the Election Commission seeking its approval to contest the general elections. The Election Commission (EC) has urged all people to exercise their franchise without being influenced, fearful and intimidated as it said all managerial works related to election were completed and security arrangements were in place to make the elections free, fair and credible. 

Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya has said that counting of votes will start from 9 PM on Sunday in Terai districts including Kathmandu.He said this while voting for the members of the House of Representatives and the Provincial Assembly from the polling station at Unique Nepal Academy in Bhaktapur on Sunday. Voting has started in one phase across the country from 7 am today. Talking to the media after casting his vote, Thapalia said that the commission is confident that there will be more than 70 percent voting in this election.Chief Election Commissioners from India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives are taking part in the election process as international observers. Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar is leading the Indian delegation.