Vote counting has begun in the presidential election held on Thursday after a total of 831 lawmakers voted to elect a new president.
Deputy Election Officer Amrita Sharma said 313 federal lawmakers and 518 provincial lawmakers cast their ballots in the election.
According to Sharma, 32 members of the provincial assembly, 28 from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), three from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) and one from the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), abstained from voting.
There are 275 members of the House of Representatives and 59 members of the National Assembly. Among them, 14 RPP lawmakers and NWPP’s Prem Suwal remained neutral.
Nepali Congress legislator Chandra Bhandari and CPN (Maoist Center) legislator Barsha Man Pun were unable to vote because they are undergoing treatment. CPN-UML lawmaker Laxmi Koiri is on the run, while JSP lawmaker Shahnaz Rahman recently died.
Voting took place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.
Nepali Congress Senior Leader Ram Chandra Paudel, who enjoys the support of eight parties, and CPN-UML leader Subash Chandra Nembang are vying to become Nepal’s third president.
The Electoral Commission prepares to announce the result of the elections on Thursday at 7 p.m.
