Polling underway across the country; top leaders cast votes in early hours

Dublin- Reports coming in from different parts of the country say the voting for constituent assembly is proceeding in a generally peaceful manner. At many polling booths in Kathmandu Valley, enthusiastic voters formed long queues from as early as 6:00 am and the voting started right on time (7:00 am) in almost all booths.
A report from mid-western district of Rolpa said that voting is proceeding smoothly in the district headquarters Liwang and other areas. Maoist chairman Prachanda is contesting the election from constituency No. 2 in Rolpa. Similarly, reports from Rajbiraj said no untoward incidents have taken place so far in Terai districts like Siraja, Saptari, Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Bara, Parsa and Mahottari.
However, polling has been cancelled in two centres in Meghauli VDC of Chitwan district following dispute between Maoist cadres and supporters of other parties.
Meanwhile, top political leaders including Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Maoist chairman Prachanda and UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal have cast their votes in their respective home districts. Most of them cast their votes in the first hour.
Prime Minister Koirala, who is contesting the CA election under proportional system, cast his ballot from Morang district. The PM arrived at the polling booth at Adarsha Higher Secondary School in Biratnagar just five minutes after the voting opened at 7:00 am and left the booth at around 7:15 am after casting his vote.
Likewise, Maoist chairman Prachanda cast the ballot in Chitwan district. Prachanda arrived at the polling centre at Laxmi Higher Secondary School, surrounded by his security guards which included over two dozen Armed Police Force (APF) personnel, and cast his ballot. TV crews and news reporters followed him as he arrived there, waving at the ordinary voters. Senior Maoist leader Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, who is in the electoral fray from Chitwan-2, also cast his vote there.
“I feel proud to have cast the vote on his historic day. This day marks the death of feudal monarchical system,” he told reporters. “Pro-republic and progressive forces have already won this election,” he added.
Similarly, UML general secretary Nepal exercised his adult franchise by casting his vote along with his 93-year-old father and son at a polling center set up at SOS Youth Village in Koteshwor-35, which falls on constituency-2 of Kathmandu district, today morning.
People thronged in large numbers at the polling centre right from the time it opened at 7:00 am and some had even waited at the center by arriving there an hour earlier. The queue of voters at the centre was so long that it stretched beyond the gates of the polling centre. Similar scenes were witnessed in other such places also.
Some voters whom Nepalnews reporter at the centre talked to said they did not mind the long queue as they were very excited to be able to vote in the first Constituent Assembly election that will draft a new constitution for the country and is expected abolish the institution of monarchy.
However, UML general secretary Nepal, along with father and son, were spared of the trouble of having to sit in the queue to wait for their turn to vote. They came to the center about half an hour after the polling opened and quickly cast their votes.
Before leaving the center Nepal told Nepalnews that he was feeling very happy to be able to cast his vote in the historic election.
“We have come to this important juncture of history after a long struggle and as we vote we are also making history,” the UML general secretary said, adding, “After the election and the results are out the first priority would be to decide the fate of monarchy and the kind of government that would be formed.”
Nepal, who is contesting from Kathmandu and Rautahat, said that from the personal point of view also this election was significant for him because three generations of his family were casting their votes together.
“My 93-year old father was unable to vote in the Constituent Assembly election that was announced by late King Tribhuvan in the year 1951 as it was cancelled later. But now he has cast his vote for the same election with his son and grandson and I am very happy for him and the country as a whole, Nepal said, adding that everyone including the parties and the army too should accept the mandate of the people and his party would contribute its utmost in drafting a democratic and progressive constitution.“