Nepal’s left alliance wins 3 seats in first phase of elections

Kathmandu: The Left alliance has won three parliamentary seats for which votes were cast in the first phase of Nepal's parliamentary and provincial assembly elections, officials said Friday.

The opposition CPN-UML won two seats while the candidate of its ally CPN-Maoist Centre defeated its main rival Nepali Congress (NC) nominee.

CPN-UML candidate from Manang district in North-West Nepal Polden Chhopang Gurung won the election by defeating his nearest rival Tek Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress, officials said.

CPN-UML candidate Prem Prasad Tulachan was declared victorious from mountainous Mustang district, trouncing his Nepali Congress rival Romi Gauchan, they said.

Read: Monarchy, Maoist blasts, hopes for Federal Republic: Nepal votes after 18 years

Kamala Rokka of the CPN-Maoist Centre won the election from Rukum district in western Nepal, defeating his nearest rival Hari Shanker Garti of the NC.

A total of 1,663 candidates contested for parliamentary seats while 2,819 were in the fray for the provincial assembly seats in the historic elections that many hope will bring the much-needed political stability to the Himalayan nation.

The polls will elect 128 members of parliament and 256 members of provincial assemblies.

The house of representatives consists of 275 members, of which 165 would be elected directly under the first-past-the-post system while the remaining 110 will come through the proportional representation system.

Voting on the parliamentary and provincial assembly seats of 32 districts, mostly situated in the hilly and mountainous region, were held on November 26 in the first phase of the elections, in which 65 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise.

The Left alliance is leading in most of the seats where elections were held in the first phase, officials added.

The counting of votes for parliamentary and assembly seats in 45 districts where polling was held Thursday is expected to take place Friday. In this phase, 67 per cent voter turnout was registered.