Counting continues for Nepal's Constituent Assembly elections

Counting continues in Nepal for the much awaited elections of the constituent assembly that took place on April 10, 2008. The 601-member constituent assembly will draft a new constitution. 335 members would be elected through the proportional representation electoral system, 240 members through election in constituencies (First Past The Post/Single non-transferable vote system) and a further 26 on recommendation by the Council of Ministers (the current interim government).

Around 17.5 million voters were eligible to vote in the elections. More than sixty percent of the voters took part in the elections. Christian Science Monitor said the voters "turned out in full force." Despite a few incidences of arson and intimidation, elections were largely peaceful. Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel said, "Overall, the election was peaceful and successful. A clear picture of standings of political parties will be known in 10 days."

According to Kantipur Online, results have been declared for at least 204 seats with CPN-Maoists winning 112 of the seats, declared so far. Two other major parties Nepali Congress and CPN-United Marxists Leninists are just behind with 33 and 27 seats respectively.