Miscellaneous
Turnout revised up to 69.58pc
The Election Commission on Friday made an upward revision of the voter turnout in the second phase of elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and provincial assemblies (PA) to around 70 percent.The Election Commission on Friday made an upward revision of the voter turnout in the second phase of elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and provincial assemblies (PA) to around 70 percent.
Right after polling concluded on Thursday, the EC had put the figures at 67 percent while suggesting that it was a preliminary calculation.
As per the revised data, as many as 8,514,864 voters used their franchise among the 12,235,993 total eligible voters. This accounts for 69.58 percent, nearly 5 percentage points higher than that recorded in the first phase of elections held on November 26.
People on Thursday voted to elect 128 members of the HoR and 256 members of the PAs. In the first phase, the elections were held in 32 districts to elect 37 members for the HoR and 74 members for the provincial assemblies.
“Compared to the past, turnout seen in the second phase of elections to HoR and PA is encouraging,” said former chief election commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel. “Looking at the international experience, it is a respectable turnout and much higher than in many developed countries.”
However, the revised figure is still low compared to the data for the local level elections held earlier this year and the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections, when the turnout was 74.16 percent and 78.78 percent, respectively.
However, experts say the figures for the local and parliamentary elections are not comparable since the former attract more voters because the candidates are from the localities.
“On the other hand, migration of a large number of Nepalis abroad for employment and other purposes also affected voter participation this year,” said Pokharel.
Election observers said most of the polling centres across the country saw presence of more women than men.
SCOPE Nepal, a domestic election observer group, said in its initial report released on Friday that more women than men turned up at the polling centres. The latest turnout is still higher than in the first CA election and earlier parliamentary polls.
According to the EC, turnout was 61.69 percent in the first CA elections held in
2008. In the 1999 parliamentary polls, the turnout was 65.69 percent. The percentage was 61.86 in the 1994 parliamentary elections and 65.15 in the earlier parliamentary polls held in 1991, according to the EC.