Voters turnout around 60%: EC

Kathmandu, Mar. 6: Against the expectations of higher participation, Thursday’s election to the House of Representatives recorded a relatively low voter turnout, according to preliminary data released by the Election Commission (EC). 

The Commission had earlier projected that the voter turnout would increase in this election. However, the preliminary report shows that only around 60 per cent of the voters cast their votes. 

A total of 1893,689 people, 9,663,358 males, 9,240,131 females, and 200 others were eligible to participate in the election, which was held peacefully.  

This was the ninth parliamentary election in Nepal and the first held after the September 8-9 Gen-Z uprising, which is said to have increased political awareness and engagement among young people. 

Despite this heightened political awareness and engagement of people in the national politics, the election witnessed the second lowest voter turnout in the history of parliamentary elections. 

The lowest voters turnout was recorded during Nepal’s first parliamentary election in 1959, when only 42.18 per cent of voters participated in the poll.  The voter turnout reached 65.15 per cent in the 1991 general elections, held after the restoration of multiparty democracy.

Similarly, the first election to the Constituent Assembly of Nepal held in 2008 recorded a turnout of 61.70 per cent. The election was held amid uncertainty over whether it could take place, as several armed groups had opposed it. 

Despite the challenges following the decade-long conflict and incidents of violence before the polls, voter participation remained slightly high compared to Thursday’s poll. 

The highest voter turnout in Nepal’s electoral history was recorded in the 2nd Constituent Assembly election held in 2013. The poll witnessed 78.34 per cent participation of voters. 

Likewise, the first parliamentary election held in 2017 under the Constitution of Nepal, 2015 saw 68.68 per cent voter participation. The second general election under the same constitution in 2022 recorded 61.63 per cent voter participation. 

The EC had repeatedly stated that voter turnout was expected to be higher in this election, while the number of invalid votes was likely to decrease. 

The Commission had cited several factors, including extensive voter education campaigns, the addition of tens of thousands of young voters to the electoral roll ahead of the election, a long public holiday that allowed voters to travel to their respective constituencies and designated polling centres, and the growing interest of young people in the electoral process, to support the claim. 

Talking about the lower voter turnout in the election, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said, “At present, the figures we have regarding the total votes cast are only preliminary estimates.”

“Data and statistics from various polling stations and polling centres, including how many votes were cast and the percentage of turnout, are still being collected,” he said, adding, “Based on the information gathered so far, we have only made a projection that the figures could be around this level,” he said.  

“However, the actual voter turnout could be significantly higher than this estimate,” Bhandari said. 

He further added that the Commission had carried out its responsibilities regarding voter education very effectively, and the programmes were implemented accordingly.