Polls close in Nepal's general election; voters seek change after youth-led protests

Record ID: 2361095

  • Title: Polls close in Nepal's general election; voters seek change after youth-led protests
  • Date: 5th March 2026
  • Summary: KATHMANDU, NEPAL (MARCH 5, 2026) (REUTERS) TEMPORARY POLLING STATIONS AT KATHMANDU'S ANCIENT DURBAR SQUARE NEPAL POLICE PERSONNEL GUARDING A BALLOT BOX BALLOT BOX VARIOUS OF ELECTION OFFICIALS SEALING BALLOT BOXES BALLOT BOXES BEING CARRIED BY ELECTION OFFICIALS IN THE PRESENCE OF POLICE PERSONNEL VARIOUS OF BALLOT BOXES BEING HAND CARRIED IN DURBAR SQUARE VARIOUS OF BOX
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Jhapa Kathmandu Nepal elections
  • Location: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
  • City: KATHMANDU, NEPAL
  • Country: Nepal
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001126105032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Polls in Nepal's general election closed on Thursday (March 5) evening as the Himalayan nation gets ready to elect a new parliament nearly six months after the deaths of 77 people in a crackdown on youth-led protests forced its then prime minister to quit.
    Counting at most booths was likely to begin soon after polls closed at 5 pm local time (1115 GMT) and early trends are likely to emerge by Friday, election commission officials said, although complete results could take a week.
    At least half of the country's 19 million eligible voters had cast their ballot by 3 pm local time (0915 GMT), the election commission said.
    Voting percentage in the country's last election in 2022 was 61%.
    Perched between China and India, the country of 30 million people has been plagued for decades by political instability, crippling a largely agrarian economy and worsening unemployment - structural issues compounded by rampant corruption.
    Some 19 million voters are eligible to cast their ballot for 275 members of parliament through a mixed electoral system – 165 seats in direct first-past-the-post elections and 110 through proportional representation.
    (Production: Yubaraj Sharma, Sunil Kataria)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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