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The Election Commission said that around 35 percent voters cast their votes across the country until 12 pm on Friday.

Voting is taking place in 21, 955 polling booths and 10, 756 polling stations of 753 local units.

The voting has been halted in Dolakha, Sarlahi, Saptari, Ramechhap, Parbat, Humla and Bajura owing to minor disputes, EC spokesperson Shalikram Sharma Paudel said.

A 113-year-old woman exercised her franchise during the local level elections in Sundar Haraincha of Morang district on Friday.

Maheshwara Adhikari cast her vote at the Panchayat Secondary School polling center in Sundar Haraincha-7 this morning.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said major political parties are found violating the election code of conduct for the local level elections during the silence period.

In a pre-election monitoring report, the NHRC shared that the candidacies of women and dalits is too less and no support system has been ensured for access of the disabled and the incapacitated to the polling booths.

Likewise, women, dalits, senior citizens and the disabled people are missing in the segregated data of the number of voters.

The report states that voters have the compulsion of walking for up to eight to ten hours in remote mountainous districts to cast voters in absence of easily accessible polling stations and some political parties used children for the publicity campaign.

The NHRC report said incidents of organising feasts to woo the voters and using cyber space and public platforms to throw abusive words against other political party/ies were also found in course of the monitoring.

More, election publicity contents were used going against the code of conduct. It also pointed out to the confusion among the voters regarding the voting process due to the lack of voter education.

Moreover, women numbered more in the list of missing voter identity cards with photos.

The report also stated that the health safety protocols against COVID-19 were not followed by the political parties while organising the mass assemblies.

Moreover, it said women’s candidacy except in special designated posts was very nominal in the post of ward chairperson.

The report said the election materials were inadequate in several districts.

An elderly man died after casting his vote in Baitadi.

The deceased has been identified as Hari Singh Bhat (84) of Kaphalda, Dogadakedar Rural Municipality-3.

Police said that Bhat fell unconscious after casting the ballot at Sanatan Dharma Higher Secondary School in Khochlek at around 8 am today.

He breathed his last on the way to a hospital for treatment.