KATHMANDU: Around 45 percent of voters had cast their ballots across the country by 4 pm on Thursday in the ongoing House of Representatives election, according to the Election Commission of Nepal.
Information Officer Suman Ghimire said the turnout figure was based on reports received from various districts by the afternoon.
The commission said the country has a total of 18,036,619 registered voters, of whom 8,450,679 had voted by 3:45 pm.
Provincial breakdown
Kathmandu Valley
The Valley has 527 polling stations across 15 constituencies. Out of 1,155,394 registered voters, 636,428 had cast their votes, accounting for 55 percent turnout.
Koshi Province
Koshi has 28 constituencies and 1,907 polling stations with 3,574,310 registered voters. A total of 1,638,102 votes had been cast, representing 46 percent turnout.
Madhesh Province
Madhesh has 32 constituencies and 2,160 polling stations with 3,636,454 voters. A total of 1,252,540 votes had been cast, or 34 percent turnout.
Bagmati Province
Bagmati has 18 constituencies and 1,388 polling stations with 2,496,336 registered voters. Of them, 1,129,660 had voted, amounting to 43 percent turnout.
Gandaki Province
Gandaki has 18 constituencies and 1,257 polling stations with 1,870,585 voters. A total of 902,236 votes had been cast, representing 48 percent turnout.
Lumbini Province
Lumbini has 26 constituencies and 2,151 polling stations with 3,366,860 registered voters. A total of 1,528,851 votes had been cast, or 45 percent turnout.
Karnali Province
Karnali has 12 constituencies and 449 polling stations with 1,037,250 voters. A total of 479,211 votes had been cast, representing 46 percent turnout.
Sudurpaschim Province
Sudurpaschim has 16 constituencies and 1,157 polling stations with 1,729,630 registered voters. A total of 670,365 votes had been cast, or 39 percent turnout.
Highest turnout in the Valley
According to the commission, the highest voter turnout was recorded in Kathmandu Valley at 55 percent, while Madhesh Province saw the lowest turnout at 34 percent. Other provinces recorded turnout between 40 and 48 percent.
The commission said coordination is ongoing to ensure voting concludes peacefully and in an orderly manner. The turnout is expected to increase further by the evening.
Earlier, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari had said the commission expects around 65 percent voter turnout from all 77 districts.
Voting began at 7 am and voters who enter polling stations before 5 pm will be allowed to cast their ballots.
In the previous parliamentary election in 2022, voter turnout stood at 61 percent, while the 2017 House of Representatives election recorded 67.63 percent turnout. The 2022 local elections saw 66.86 percent voter participation.
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