Vote counting underway in 307 local units

Kathmandu, June 29: Vote counting is underway in 307 of the 334 local units in province 1, 5 and 7 where the second phase of local elections was held on Wednesday.

The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) said that as per the details received by the Joint Election Operation Centre (JEOC) at the ECN, by Thursday evening vote counting had begun in 307 local units while counting was yet to commence in 25 units.

"Ballot boxes from the polling centres in high mountain and hill areas were collected with helicopters, and ballot boxes from a polling centre in Taplejung district is yet to be collected," said the election management body in a press statement.

Likewise, it stated that the elections would be held in ward no. 1 of Kothimahi rural municipality of Rupandehi and ward no. 3 of Jaya Prithvi Municipality of Bajhang district on Friday. The election was halted in those two polling centres following disputes among the political parties.

Meanwhile, the ECN has corrected the percentage of vote cast to 73.69 per cent from earlier 70.5 per cent.

"Province 1 witnessed 72.49 per cent vote casting, and 75.34 per cent people voted in province 5 and 73.69 per cent in province 7," read the statement.

The percentage of voter turnout is higher than the first phase of local polls which was held in province 3, 4 and 6 a month-and-a-half ago where 73 per cent votes were cast.

Elections were held in 1 metropolitan city, 7 sub-metropolitan cities, 111 municipalities and 215 rural municipalities.

As much as 62,408 candidates were in the fray in those local units for 15,038 posts – 119 mayors and deputy mayors each, 215 chairmen and deputy chairmen, 2,874 ward chairmen, woman members and dalit women members each, and 5,748 ward member (open).

“The highest voters turn out was seen in Bajura district where 80 per cent people cast their ballots while Bhojpur witnessed only 61 per cent of the total voters exercising their franchise rights which is the lowest in the 35 districts where the elections were held in the second phase,” said Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav, Chief Election Commissioner, at a special press meet organised at the ECN on Wednesday.