Kathmandu, Jan 25 (PTI) Nepali Congress party has bagged nine seats followed by CPN-UML with eight and Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party with one seat in Sunday's election to the National Assembly.
The Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) – CPN-UML – had reached a pre-poll understanding ahead of the voting for the vacant seats in the upper house.
According to the Election Commission (EC), as many as 95.68 per cent votes were polled for the election held from 9 am to 3 pm (local time) and the process had concluded peacefully across the country.
EC spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said that out of the 18 vacant positions in the National Assembly, election was conducted for 17 seats only as one candidate was elected uncontested.
The EC data showed that the Nepali Congress won the highest seats (nine), followed by CPN-UML winning eight and the Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party getting one seat.
With Sunday's tally included, the Nepali Congress now has 25 seats, thus becoming the largest party in the 59 member National Assembly. The Nepali Communist Party has become the second largest party with 18 seats while with the current election results, the CPN-UML's strength has reached 11 in the National Assembly.
Of the 59 seats of the Upper House, one third becomes vacant every two years. Eight seats each are elected from seven provinces, totaling 56, and the remaining 3 seats are filled through the president's nomination.
For the National Assembly member election, eligible voters include provincial assembly members, mayors, deputy mayors, as well as chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of rural municipalities, who carry different weightage.