Ruling alliance maintains lead in Nepal elections

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress-led ruling coalition on Saturday maintained its lead in Nepal's parliamentary elections, winning 77 seats out of the 148 declared. In the 275-member House of Representatives, 165 seats will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system.

A party or a coalition needs 138 seats to win a clear majority in the House. The Nepali Congress (NC) has won 48 seats alone under the direct voting system. Its allies -- CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist have won 16 and 10 seats. The Lokatantrik Samajwadi and Rastriya Janamorcha have bagged two and one seats respectively. They all are part of the ruling alliance.

The Opposition alliance led by former premier K P Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML has bagged 46 seats. The CPN-UML has won 38 seats. The CPN-UML partners - the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Janata Samajwadi Party - have won five and three seats respectively. The newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party has won 7 seats. Nagarik Unmukti Party, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and Janamat Party have received 3, 1 and 1 seats respectively. Independent and others have received 13 seats. Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on Sunday. The counting of votes started on Monday.