About 61 per cent polling was recorded on Sunday in Nepal's parliament and provincial assemblies elections, marred by sporadic violence and clashes that left one person dead and disrupted voting at several polling stations, officials said.
The polling started at 7 am local time at over 22,000 polling centres and closed at 5 pm.
"The nationwide voter turnout has stood at around 61 per cent. This is likely to increase slightly as we continue receiving details from districts across the country," Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya told reporters.
"This is certainly less than what we had expected," he added. The voter turnout is significantly lower as compared to the past two elections - 77 per cent in 2013, and 78 per cent in 2017.
More than 17.9 million voters were eligible to cast their votes to elect a 275-member House of Representatives and provincial assemblies.
Thapaliya said the elections were held largely in a peaceful manner except for a "few minor incidents”. He said that voting has been postponed in 15 polling stations in four districts as a result of such incidents.
He said the Election Commission has directed the concerned election offices in those districts to make necessary arrangements to hold the elections within two days.
The counting of votes will start tonight itself in three districts of Kathmandu Valley, he said, adding that the counting will end within a week.
One person was killed after being shot dead at a polling station in Nateshwari Basic School of Tribeni Municipality in Bajura. The 24-year-old man was shot dead by the police following a dispute between two groups after the voting was over, officials said.
A minor explosion took place near Sharda Secondary School polling station in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City in Kailali district. However, there was no casualty, they said, adding that voting continued in the polling station despite the incident with just half-an-hour interruption.
Some incidents of heated arguments between party cadres were reported from 11 areas in Dhangadi, Gorkha and Dolakha districts. However, it did not affect the polling, they said.
Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) president Sher Bahadur Deuba cast his ballot in his home district Dadeldhura. He voted at the Ashigram Secondary School polling centre at Ruwakhola in Ganyapdhura rural municipality-1 in the morning. Deuba had studied at this school.
Deuba has continuously won the election from Dadeldhura since 1991. He is running for the federal parliament member for the seventh time in this election, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chairman and former prime minister K P Sharma Oli cast his ballot at the polling centre situated in Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur district near Kathmandu.
Talking to reporters after casting his vote, Oli said that his CPN-UML-led alliance will secure a clear majority and form the next government by December 1.
"The UML will form a majority government, or at least a coalition government comprising parties that have forged an alliance with us in the elections," he said.
CPN-Maoist Centre chairman and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” cast his vote at the polling centre located at Bharatpur Municipality in Chitawan district.
"It is most likely that the next government will be formed under the leadership of the Nepali Congress and I will contest for the post of Parliamentary Party leader to forward my claim for the top executive position," NC general secretary Gagan Thapa said after casting his vote in Kathmandu constituency No. 4.