Nepal elections 2026 LIVE: About 25% voter turnout recorded till 1 p.m. in first polls since post Gen-Z protest

A turnout of a little over 16% was recorded till noon after polling began at 7 a.m. in a crucial election Nepal is holding six months after the Gen Z protests.

According to the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN), 3.19 million voters — around 16.88% — had cast their votes till noon.

There are more than 18.9 million eligible voters, with around 1 million added to the rolls since September’s youth protests, which toppled the K.P. Sharma Oli government and eventually triggered Thursday’s vote.

The number of voters is up by 915,119 from the last elections held in 2022. Of them, 52% are aged between 18 and 40, whose votes are expected to be decisive.

In the Kathmandu Valley, comprising the three districts of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur, turnout has been recorded at 25.55%, while Bagmati Province, which has 10 districts including those in the Kathmandu Valley, has recorded 17.21%.

Turnout in Koshi Province (28 districts) in the east is 15.60%; in Madhesh (8 districts), 10.46%; in Gandaki (11 districts), 22.5%; in Lumbini (12 districts), 16.06%; in Karnali (20 districts), 20.23%; and in Sudurpashchim (9 districts), 20.07%.

There are seven provinces and 77 districts in Nepal. 

The ECN has set up 23,112 polling centres at 10,963 polling stations across the country.

– Sanjeev Satgainya