Voting has started across the country on Sunday morning to elect the House of Representatives and seven provincial assemblies.

The voting began and 7am and eligible voters will be allowed cast their ballots till 5 pm. There are a total of 17,988,570 voters eligible to vote in the elections, according to the Election Commission.

A total of 10,892 polling stations and 22,227 polling centres have been established besides 141 temporary booths for civil servants, security personnel, prisoners and people living in old-age homes to vote. Approximately 300,000 security personnel, including from Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the National Intelligence Department, will be deployed during the elections. They are assisted by 115,000 temporary police recruits, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The periodic election is taking place after the completion of the legislature’s full term despite former prime minister KP Sharma Oli attempting twice to dissolve the House.

A total of 11,543, including both first-past-the-post and proportional representation candidates for the House of Representatives and provincial assemblies are in the fray, according to the Election Commission.

According to the commission, a total of 2,412 candidates are contesting the House seats under the FPTP system. Among them, 2,187 are male and 225 are female. For the 110 proportional representation seats, there are a total of 2,199 candidates—1,187 female and 1,012 male.

A total of 3,224 candidates, including 280 women and one other, are contesting the 330 provincial seats under the FPTP system. For the 220 proportional representation seats up for grabs, 3,708 candidates (including 1,511 women) are in the fray.