Voting to elect the new leadership of the CPN–UML concluded early Thursday, the party’s central election commission said.

Commission member Bharat Pokhrel said 2,227 convention delegates cast their ballots, while 36 were absent. “The voting process has ended,” he said, adding that results are expected by 10:30am on Thursday if there are no complications.

Pokhrel said the electronic voting machines have been locked and are being checked before sealing and certification. Vote counting will begin after a consensus among all stakeholders.

Polling began at 9:12am on Wednesday and continued overnight. 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. Delays also occurred on Wednesday morning after party chair KP Sharma Oli arrived late at the polling station. A total of 80 electronic machines were used at Bhrikutimandap.

Oli and senior vice-chair Ishwar Pokhrel are contesting the chairperson’s post with full panels. The long list of candidates meant each delegate took about half an hour to vote, according to the election commission.