Nepal Votes in Pivotal Parliamentary Election Six Months After Youth Uprising

Overview

• Polling is taking place Thursday to fill the 275-member lower house, with 165 seats decided by first-past-the-post and 110 by proportional representation, as nearly 19 million people are eligible to vote.
• The Election Commission’s Ram Prasad Bhandari said first results from direct races will be released within 24 hours after counting begins, with proportional tallies to be announced later.
• Authorities have deployed thousands of police and soldiers, set up crowd-control barriers in high-risk Jhapa, and delivered election materials by helicopter to remote mountain areas.
• Campaign focus has shifted to the southern plains, where KP Sharma Oli faces Balendra Shah in Jhapa‑5 and Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa is contesting Sarlahi.
• Analysts expect no party to secure an outright majority, pointing to days of counting and likely coalition negotiations after the initial results are posted.