Polling concludes; voter turnout around 60 pc; CEC describes polling as a
success
The historic election to Constituent Assembly has formally concluded at
5:00 pm Thursday evening with very encouraging turnout of voters.
At most polling stations in Kathmandu Valley, voting completed well within
the appointed time while voting was still underway at some booths even
until 5:30 pm. Election Commission (EC) had said all the voters who
entered the booths before 5:00 pm will be allowed to cast the ballots.
Reports from various districts said that voting ended successfully and the
officials are preparing to bring the ballot boxes to the district
headquarters for counting.
Calling a press conference immediately after the voting ended, the Chief
Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel said that albeit few incidents in
some places, election in all polling stations of 239 constituencies was
held peacefully across the country.
"The total turnout of the voters is estimated to be around 60 per cent. However, the EC is yet to confirm it until the information from all the
constituencies are received," CEC Pokharel said, describing the polls as a
success.
Informing that polling has been suspended in 33 polling stations, Pokharel
said the EC will soon decide the re-polling date for those stations.
"We had said that election would take place peacefully, and the God has
heard our voice," CEC Pokharel said, adding that the EC will commence
counting of votes after all the ballot boxes are received in the district
headquarters. According to him, the complete result election will be out
in about ten days.
EC officials said that counting in Kathmandu-1, where electronic voting
system was introduced for the first time in Nepal, is likely to start
later this evening and the results are expected by midnight or early next
morning.
Not a single violent incident was reported in 15 Kathmandu Valley that has
a total of 15 constituencies - ten in Kathmandu, three in Lalitpur and two
in Bhakapur district - during the voting process.
The EC is yet to release official figures, but preliminary calculations
showed that Arghakhanchi district had over 70 percent turnout, Rukum 60
percent, Surkhet 65 percent, Bardiya 67 percent, Mugu 60 percent, Humla 63
percent, Banke and Surkhet 65 percent and Salyan 62 percent.
The balloting went smoothly in Terai and eastern districts like Morang,
Sunsari, Bara, Prasa, Rautahat and Jhapa while it has been postponed in
nearly two dozen stations in Chitwan, Siraha, Saptari and Mahottari
districts. The EC has postponed polling in seven stations in Saptari
district.
There were no reports of cancellation of polling in mid and far-western
districts. nepalnews.com mk/ag Apr 10 08
