Voting has begun to select the leadership of the CPN-UML. After electronic voting by chairperson candidates KP Sharma Oli and Ishwar Pokhrel was completed successfully, party representatives were allowed to enter the voting process.
Voting officially started after chairperson candidate KP Sharma Oli arrived at the polling venue. The other chairperson candidate, Ishwar Pokhrel, had arrived earlier in the morning and was requesting votes from representatives.
Although the initial schedule had set voting to begin at 10:00 am yesterday, the time was repeatedly postponed and later fixed for 9:00 pm. However, due to delays in entering the revised list of candidates into the electronic voting machines and problems related to font support, the voting was postponed to this morning.
A total of 2,263 representatives have gathered at Bhrikutimandap to decide the 301-member central committee, while some members have already been elected unopposed.
Eighty electronic voting machines have been arranged for the election. It is estimated that each voter will take 35 to 40 minutes to cast their vote. The election commission has made arrangements for 50 voters to vote at a time, with a single line for both women and men.
KP Sharma Oli and Ishwar Pokhrel are contesting the election with separate panels.
According to the Central Election Commission, 11 candidates are competing for five vice-chairperson positions. For the post of general secretary, Shankar Pokhrel and Surendra Pandey are in the race. Similarly, seven candidates have filed nominations for three deputy general secretary posts, while 20 candidates are contesting for nine secretary positions.
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