SUDURPASCHIM: Around 48 percent of voters cast their ballots in Sudurpaschim Province during Thursday’s House of Representatives election.
According to Province Election Office chief Prem Raj Bhatt, turnout reached 60 percent in Kanchanpur, 39 percent in Achham, 38 percent in Doti, 46 percent in Bajura, and 41 percent in Bajhang.
Similarly, turnout stood at 46 percent in Baitadi, 49 percent in Dadeldhura, 53 percent in Kailali, and 54 percent in Darchula. The province has 16 constituencies with a total of 1,716,660 registered voters. Officials said turnout this time is lower compared to previous elections.
The Province Election Office said vote counting will begin after ballot boxes are transported to counting centers and an all-party meeting is held.
Following the completion of voting, the process of transporting ballot boxes has already begun. Police said it may take longer to bring ballot boxes from remote Himalayan polling stations in Darchula, Bajhang, and Bajura.
Spokesperson of the Sudurpaschim Province Police Office, Padam Bahadur Bogati, said preparations are underway to airlift ballot boxes from at least 10 polling centers in the mountainous areas by helicopter.
He added that voting concluded peacefully across the province, although voters were absent at the polling stations of Apidudila Boarding School in Darchula and Gaurishankar Secondary School in Naugad Rural Municipality, where only election staff cast proportional representation votes.
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