Over 41,000 Votes Declared Invalid in Sudurpaschim Province Federal Elections

Mahendranagar. A total of 41,624 votes were declared invalid in the Federal Parliament elections held in Sudurpaschim Province on Falgun 21.

According to the Sudurpaschim Province Election Office in Dhangadhi, 4.71 percent of the total votes cast across all 16 constituencies in the province were invalidated. Dilip Bhat, Information Officer at the Provincial Election Office Dhangadhi, stated that out of 1,729,450 registered voters in Sudurpaschim, 884,177 votes were cast, of which 41,624 were invalidated. In Kailali Constituency No. 1, which has five constituencies, 3,258 votes were invalidated out of 59,311 cast.

Similarly, Information Officer Bhat informed that in Kailali-2, 2,646 votes were invalidated out of 56,967 cast. In Kailali-3, where 60,332 votes were cast, 2,913 votes were invalidated, while in Kailali-4, 2,907 votes were invalidated. A total of 63,117 votes were cast here. In Kailali-5, 2,807 votes were invalidated out of 66,295 cast.

Likewise, in Kanchanpur Constituency No. 1, which has three constituencies, 3,234 votes were invalidated out of 61,367 cast, while in Constituency No. 2, 3,430 votes were invalidated. A total of 66,054 votes were cast here. In Kanchanpur-3, 3,399 votes were invalidated out of 58,543 cast.

Furthermore, in Achham, which has two constituencies, 1,119 votes were invalidated in Constituency No. 1. A total of 32,243 votes were cast here, while in Achham-2, 1,531 votes were invalidated out of 32,650 cast. In Bajura, which has one constituency, 1,200 votes were invalidated out of a total of 45,669 cast, while in Doti, 2,469 votes were invalidated out of 52,906 cast, according to the Provincial Election Office.

In Darchula, 1,608 votes were invalidated. A total of 50,930 votes were cast here, while in Baitadi, 72,308 votes were cast, with 4,126 votes invalidated here. Similarly, in Dadeldhura, 2,025 votes were invalidated out of 26,211 cast.

The Provincial Election Office stated that while voter turnout in Sudurpaschim was 51.12 percent, 95.29 percent of votes were valid and 4.71 percent were invalidated. Among the 16 seats in the region, candidates from the Rastriya Swatantra Party won in five constituencies in Kailali, three in Kanchanpur, and one each in Baitadi and Dadeldhura, while Nepali Congress candidates won in Doti, Achham-1, and Bajura. Candidates from CPN (UML) won in Jhapa, Darchula, and Achham-2.