KATHMANDU, May 14: A total of 4,956,925 voters in 34 districts from Province 3, 4 and 6 are looking forward to cast their votes today after 7am in the morning for the first time in the history to elect their local rulers. According to Election Commission, there are 14,054,482 voters across the country.
First time in the sense that voters have not yet cast their votes in a federal set up to pick their representatives for the local government with complete political and legal powers ensured by the new constitution. Though many have construed this election as the one taking place after 1997, it is the first one through which the Singha Durbar-centric power and resources would be shifted to the grassroots level aiming to empower the people to exercise their sovereignty.
Welcome to Federal Nepal, Koshi!
The voters in Province 1, 2, 5 and 7 would be exercising their voting right on June 14-- the date for second phase of the local level elections. The local level election is taking place as per the federal system of governance comprising three tiers envisaged by the constitution of Nepal. This will be followed by the election at the provincial and the federal level. And as per the Constitution of Nepal, all the three elections are supposed to take place by January 2018.
According to the Election Commission, the 34 districts, which are casting votes today, have 283 local bodies, including four metropolitan cities, 92 municipalities, 186 rural municipalities and one sub-metropolitan city.
There are 6,642 polling stations in the first phase of the election for the first phase.
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