KATHMANDU: The voting for by-elections to elect people’s representatives in various 52 vacant posts has begun at 7:00 am on Saturday.

The voting has started at 7 am today at all 246 voting centers with 537 polling booths of 37 districts in the country, said Raj Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson of the Election Commission. Voters can cast their votes until 5 pm today.

Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya called all the voters to exercise their rights without any fear because reliable security arrangement has put in place.

An integrated security arrangement with strong coordination among all security agencies was ensured to hold the election in a free and fair atmosphere.

A total of 273 candidates are in the fray. There are a total of 454,114 voters participating in the by-elections. The EC has directed all voting officers to make appropriate arrangement of voting to the persons with a disability, pregnant, senior citizens and sick voters.

The voting is being held for a member of the House of Representatives in Kaski constituency-2, while for State Assembly members in Bhaktapur, Baglung and Dang. Similarly, the election is also for the mayor at Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City.

Falgunanda Rural Municipality of Panchthar, Makalu Rural Municipality of Sankhuwasabha and Pipara Rural Municipality of Mahottari and Kharpunath rural Municipality of Humla are also holding the by-elections.