Kathmandu [Nepal], March 6 (HBTV): Nepal’s general elections recorded a preliminary voter turnout of around 60 percent, with significant participation from the Gen Z demographic contributing to what officials described as an ‘unprecedented’ energy at polling stations.
The Election Commission of Nepal attributed the successful conduct of the elections to improved voter education, cooperation from political parties and robust security measures. The polls held across Nepal on Thursday were largely peaceful.
Following recent Gen Z protests, the credibility of the Nepal government and the Election Commission had come under scrutiny ahead of the election. After voting concluded at 5 pm, Officiating Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari thanked the people of Nepal for their participation.
Speaking to ANI, Joint Secretary and spokesperson of the Election Commission, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, said the polling process had concluded smoothly.
'We have conducted the voting process. According to primary data, the vote cast is about 60 per cent all over the country. As per the expectation, the voting process was quite safe and voters were excited to participate in the voting process,' Bhattarai said.
On the challenges faced during the election, Bhattarai noted that the polls were organised under special circumstances.
'This election was planned in special circumstances. There were some doubts among the people about the success of the selection, but due to the effective cooperation from political parties, candidates, all voters, the Government of Nepal, the private sector, the media and all sectors, we were able to successfully conclude the elections,' he said.
Referring to the role of younger voters following earlier protests, Bhattarai said Gen Z played a constructive role in the election.
'Gen Z has been very much supportive in this election. Their participation in this election process has also been positive in terms of candidates as well as voters,' he added.
He further said that from the time the president announced the election date, the Government of Nepal had extended full support to the Election Commission in terms of equipment, human resources and other logistical assistance.
Bhattarai also acknowledged support from India during the election process.
'India, as a neighbouring country, has been very supportive of us in this election. They have provided vehicles and other assistance. Nepal and India are close neighbours not only in terms of geography but also in social, economic and cultural ties,' he said.
Sharing details about the counting process, Bhattarai said returning officers had already begun submitting ballot boxes to counting centres. Counting is expected to start later in the night in some constituencies.
'First, the FPTP votes will be counted and those results will be published. After that, we will start counting the proportional votes. This process will take some time, and we can expect the final results within 15 days,' he added.
(ANI)