Voting peaceful in first Nepal election since September youth-led protests

Описание: (5 Mar 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kathmandu, Nepal - 05 March 2026
1. Former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli arriving to vote in Kathmandu
2. Oli signing ballot
3. Oli casting ballot and waving
4. Various of women voting
5. Nepali Congress Party leader Gagan Thapa voting
6. Volunteers helping voters look up names at the main square in Kathmandu
7. Various of voters
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Luniva, college student:
“I came to vote mainly because of the protest and so many people gave their lives in the hope of a change, in hope of seeing better Nepal. Hopefully, I want to see my country become better by all the sacrifices that have been made. So I am here to vote for that.”
9. Police officers guard the tent where people vote
10.Voters at a polling centre
11. Closer shot of the ballot box
12. Voters line up
13. Wide of the polling booth
14. A woman in wheelchair being brought to vote
STORYLINE:
Voting was peaceful Thursday in Nepal's first nationwide election since a violent, youth-led uprising forced the government from power in September.

Security forces patrolled streets and guarded polling stations across the Himalayan nation of about 30 million people as voters lined up to cast their ballots. Vote counting is set to begin later Thursday, with results expected over the weekend.

Campaigning and voting through Thursday had not been disrupted by any incidents of violence, officials said.

Authorities banned vehicles from the streets and prohibited political rallies and public gatherings. All forms of campaigning are barred on election day.

People crowded polling stations from the mountains in the north to the southern plains districts. At the main square in capital city Kathmandu, men and women stood in separate lines under the warm spring sun while police officers and soldiers maintained a tight security presence around the area.

“I came to vote mainly because of the protest and so many people gave their lives in the hope of a change, in hope of seeing better Nepal,” said Luniva, a first-time voter. “Hopefully, I want to see my country become better by all the sacrifices that have been made.”

Young voters joined older generations at polling stations across the country, with many lining up even before voting began at 7 a.m.

There are about 19 million registered voters among the country’s nearly 30 million people, according to the Election Commission of Nepal.

Millions of Nepalis living overseas are unable to take part in the vote because the country does not yet have a system allowing voting from abroad.

Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties nominate lawmakers based on their share of the vote.

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