Voting in the parliamentary elections began across the country on Thursday morning, with several senior political leaders and candidates casting their ballots early in the day. Polling opened under heightened security as voters headed to polling stations nationwide to elect members of the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki cast her vote at a polling centre in Dhapasi, Kathmandu, shortly after voting began. Many prominent political figures followed suit in different parts of the country as the election process got underway.
Among them, Shram Sanskriti Party chair Harkraj Sampang voted at Carmel School in Inaruwa while contesting from Sunsari-1. Nepali Communist Party leader Madhav Kumar Nepal cast his ballot at a polling centre in Gaur Municipality in Rautahat. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, coordinator of the same party, voted at the Nepal Police School polling centre in Bharatpur, Chitwan.
Leaders from the Rastriya Swatantra Party also participated early in the voting process. Party chair Rabi Lamichhane, who is contesting from Chitwan-2, cast his vote in Kathmandu. Senior leader Balen Shah, a candidate from Jhapa-5 and the party’s prime ministerial candidate, voted at Annapurna Binayak School in Sinamangal. Another party leader, Sobita Gautam, also voted early in the day.
From the CPN-UML, General Secretary Shankar Pokharel voted in Dang-2, while Vice Chairman Bishnu Poudel cast his ballot in Butwal, Rupandehi-2. Other senior leaders, including Barshaman Pun and Onsari Gharti Magar, voted in Rolpa.
Ujyaalo Nepal Party chair Kulman Ghising voted at a polling centre in Mahankal, Kathmandu, where he is running as a candidate from Kathmandu-3. Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa also cast his vote at a polling centre near Maitidevi Temple in Kathmandu.
Election officials reported that voting had begun smoothly across the country with strong voter participation and no major disruptions in the early hours of polling.