Kathmandu, March 5 Nepalese began arriving at polling booths on Thursday morning to cast their votes in the crucial general elections, the first since a violent protest led by young people last year, which toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government.
More than 18.9 million eligible Nepalese will be exercising their franchise to elect the 275-member House of Representatives from among the 3,406 candidates competing for 165 seats through direct voting, and 3,135 candidates competing for 110 seats through proportional representation.
Voting began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Counting will begin immediately after the ballot boxes are collected.
Addressing a press conference here on the eve of the elections, Acting Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari had said on Wednesday that all preparations for the election had been completed and urged voters to participate actively and enthusiastically in the democratic process.
