KP Sharma Oli is leading the race for UML chair as vote counting continues at the party’s 11th general convention on Thursday.

With 1,139 votes counted, Oli has secured 843 votes against 296 for first-time contender Ishwar Pokharel. In the general secretary race, Shankar Pokharel has 613 votes while Surendra Pandey has 526.

Ballots were gathered from 80 electronic voting machines, with representatives from both panels and the party’s central election commission members overseeing the process.

Oli is seeking a third term as chair, having first been elected at the 9th general convention in Kathmandu and re-elected at the 10th in Sauraha. He had previously lost to Jhalanath Khanal at the 8th convention in Butwal.

Bijay Subba, chair of the party’s election commission, said the final results are expected in two to three hours. “The results will be announced once all votes are verified and both sides approve,” he added.

Polling began at 9:12am on Wednesday, continued overnight and ended early Thursday. A total of 2,227 delegates cast ballots, while 36 were absent

Despite the use of electronic voting machines, the process took longer than expected, extending the convention by two days beyond the original three-day schedule.

The party will elect 301 central committee members and 19 office bearers. Eleven candidates have already been elected unopposed, while delegates had to select 290 others. The voting system required delegates to cast votes for all listed positions before proceeding.

Earlier, voting had been postponed from Tuesday evening due to technical issues. A total of 80 electronic machines were used at Bhrikutimandap.