Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Voting is underway in different parts of the country to fill 41 vacant positions in local governments.
According to the Election Commission, voting is ongoing peacefully at 293 polling centers in different parts of the country.
In Hetauda, voters are casting their ballots at the Pratibha Basic School and Bishnu Jyoti Basic School polling centers in the sub-metropolitan city’s Ward 12. According to the Bagmati Province Election Office, there are 8,053 registered voters in this ward.
The ward chief position became vacant after the previously elected ward chief, Lalit Bahadur Ghalan, became the chief of the District Coordination Committee, Makwanpur. A total of 12 – nine from different political parties and three independent candidates – are in the electoral fray.
In Rajbiraj of Saptari, voting is underway at five polling centers to elect chairpersons of Wards 1 and 4 of Dakneshwari Municipality. The positions became with the demise of the elected ward chairpersons. Eight candidates each are contesting in the two wards.
Similarly, voting is underway to elect the vice-chairperson of Sarkegad Rural Municipality of Humla. Voters have lined up to cast their ballots at polling centers set up at Deval Primary, Saraswati Secondary, Laliguras Secondary, Devkota Secondary, Himjyoti Secondary and Bhawani Secondary, among others.
In Kathmandu Valley, voting is underway for the position of Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality and Chairperson of Ward-16 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
The by-elections are being held to fill the vacant positions of one mayor and one deputy mayor, and two rural municipality chairpersons and four vice chairpersons as well as 34 ward chairpersons.
