More than half of the registered voters in Kathmandu Valley had cast their ballots by 3 pm on Thursday as polling for the House of Representatives election continued across the country.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 624,934 votes had been cast in the Valley’s 15 constituencies out of 1,185,374 registered voters, representing about 51 percent turnout.

Provincial data showed varying levels of voter participation across the country by the afternoon. Koshi Province recorded the highest turnout at 58 percent, with 1,359,816 votes cast out of 3,574,310 registered voters.

Madhesh Province reported 1,097,570 votes cast from 3,636,414 registered voters, representing 54 percent turnout.

In Bagmati Province, 1,055,924 votes had been cast out of 2,496,936 registered voters, accounting for 53 percent participation.

Gandaki Province recorded 857,459 votes from 1,870,065 voters, representing 41 percent turnout.

In Lumbini Province, 1,367,966 voters had cast their ballots by 3 pm, or about 38 percent of the province’s 3,386,680 registered voters.

Karnali Province reported 444,493 votes cast from 1,037,250 voters, representing 42 percent turnout.

Similarly, Sudurpaschim Province recorded 606,239 votes cast out of 1,716,660 registered voters, accounting for 43 percent participation.

The Election Commission said polling was continuing peacefully across the country and turnout was expected to increase further as voting continues until 5 pm.