Polls in Nepal’s general election closed on Thursday evening as the Himalayan nation gets ready to elect a new parliament nearly six months after the deaths of 77 people in a crackdown on youth-led protests forced its then prime minister to quit.
Counting at most booths was likely to begin soon after polls closed at 5 pm local time (1115 GMT) and early trends are likely to emerge by Friday, election commission officials said, although complete results could take a week.
At least half of the country’s 19 million eligible voters had cast their ballot by 3 pm local time (0915 GMT), the election commission said.
On Thursday, voters flocked to schools, temples and ancient courtyards that have been converted into polling booths across the country, with some braving the morning chill in the capital Kathmandu to vote early.
Officials said more than 300,000 security personnel, including the military, had been deployed to ensure peaceful voting in the more than 23,000 polling booths across the country.
