The Election Commission has said that voting is underway across the country with enthusiasm.

Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson for the commission, said, “We have not observed any initial disruptions. Voting has started smoothly, and the electoral process is being conducted securely.”

According to Bhattarai, voters are arriving at polling centres in an orderly manner. The commission said it has deployed staff to ensure both voter convenience and security, and has made all necessary arrangements to facilitate a smooth voting process.

Polling is taking place in all 77 districts from 7am to 5pm in a single phase.

A total of 18,903,689 voters are eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives. The figure is up by 915,119 from the 2022 elections. Of them, 52 percent are aged between 18 and 40.

There are 6,541 candidates in the fray. Under the first-past-the-post system, 3,406 candidates are contesting 165 seats, including 1,143 independents. For the 110 proportional representation seats, 3,135 candidates are listed under 63 parties.

The commission has set up 23,112 polling centres at 10,963 polling stations nationwide. A total of 341,113 security personnel, including 149,000 temporary election police, have been deployed.

The commission said it aims to publish first-past-the-post results within 24 hours after counting begins.