Nepal begins historic vote; army on alert after a series of small blasts

Nepalis began voting for a new parliament on Sunday with the army on alert as a series of small blasts blamed on a rogue Maoist group reminded the Himalayan nation of the violence and instability it is hoping to leave behind.

More than decade after the end of a civil war between Maoist peasant guerrillas, Nepal is hoping this election - the first parliamentary polls since 1999 - will complete its long journey from a monarchy to becoming a federal republic.

A second phase of the election will take place on Dec. 7, and the election commission has said that the final results probably won't be known for several days because of the cumbersome counting procedures.

A Maoist splinter group was behind a series of small blasts in the run up to the polls, and security forces have defused around 30 improvised explosive devices since Friday, army spokesman Nain Raj Dahal said.

Suresh Balsami was the first voter at Kagatigaun polling centre near the capital Kathmandu.

"I voted for peace, development and prosperity of the country,” said the 32-year-old bus driver as other voters began to trickle in.

Nepal voted in 2008 and 2013 for a Constituent Assembly, which doubled as parliament, to write a post-monarchy charter that plotted the course to becoming a federal republic.
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