Senior advocate Bijaya Prasad Mishra is leading the race for the presidency of the Nepal Bar Association, with nearly double the votes of his closest competitor, senior advocate Raman Kumar Shrestha. Mishra, representing the broader democratic and progressive legal professionals group, secured 2,010 votes as of the second day of vote counting.

Shrestha, his nearest rival, garnered 1,007 votes. The voting for the 27th central committee of the association took place on Saturday, with a turnout of around 80 percent from the 9,957 eligible voters. Voting was conducted at 36 centres, both in Kathmandu and across the country.

In the race for the association’s leadership, Mishra is contesting against Shrestha, who represents the professional legal professionals’ group. Mishra’s team has senior advocate Kedar Prasad Koirala standing as the candidate for general secretary, while Shrestha’s team has Yagyamani Neupane in the same role.

The vote counting resumed at 8:00 am, with Mishra’s group continuing to hold a significant lead across other positions as well, including the general secretary role.