While most voters stood in long queues outside schools and community halls across Nepal, a very different kind of polling station quietly did its job behind high walls and locked gates. Inside prisons across the country, inmates too lined up; not for roll call, but for democracy. And the turnout? Surprisingly impressive.
From Dhankuta to Birgunj, from Taplejung to Gorkha, prisoners turned out in large numbers to cast their votes in the proportional representation system. In several prisons, the turnout even touched a perfect 100 percent.
Here’s a look at how voting unfolded inside Nepal’s prisons.
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Dhankuta prison sees 97% voting
The temporary polling station set up inside Dhankuta prison wrapped up its voting process with an impressive turnout of about 97 percent.
A total of 76 people voted at the centre. Among them were 74 inmates and two staff members deployed at the polling station. All of them cast votes under the proportional representation system.
Originally, the voter list at the prison included 78 inmates. However, two prisoners were released a few days before voting day, leaving 76 eligible voters who eventually participated in the process.
Half the district votes by afternoon in Sunsari
Elsewhere in Sunsari district, voting continued peacefully throughout the day.
By around 3 pm, more than 50 percent of the voters across all four parliamentary constituencies in Sunsari had already cast their ballots.
One of the temporary polling centres in the district was set up inside Jhumka Prison in Ramdhuni Municipality-5. Voting there has already been completed.
Out of 149 inmates staying at the prison, 77 prisoners participated in the voting process, according to the district administration.
Gorkha prison records perfect turnout
If there was a place where voter enthusiasm reached absolute perfection, it was Gorkha prison.
The temporary polling station inside the district jail recorded 100 percent voter turnout among inmates.
All 27 inmates whose names appeared on the voter roll cast their votes. Two staff members also participated in the vote.
Although the voter list had a total of 40 names, the remaining names belonged to staff members who did not vote at that particular centre.
Baglung prison: Over 96% participation
Baglung prison also witnessed strong participation.
Out of 55 inmates listed as voters, 53 cast their ballots, resulting in a turnout of 96.36 percent.
Baglung district has a total of 230 polling centres and 193,381 registered voters.
Voting continues at Central Jail Complex in Kathmandu
Meanwhile, voting was still ongoing at temporary polling stations inside the Central Jail complex in Jagannathdeval, Kathmandu.
The complex includes the Central Jail, the Women’s Correctional Home and the Correctional Facility.
Arrangements were made for 154 inmates from the Central Jail, five inmates from the women’s correctional facility and 48 inmates from the Bhadra correctional centre to vote.
The voter list at the temporary polling centre includes 207 inmates, including five women along with 24 prison staff members.
Taplejung prison also sees 100% voting
In Taplejung district, every single inmate listed as a voter participated in the election.
All 42 prisoners whose names were included on the voter list cast their ballots.
The voting process at the prison has already concluded smoothly.
Birgunj and Saptari prisons show high participation
Birgunj prison also recorded a perfect turnout among inmate voters. All 32 inmates listed as voters cast their ballots under the proportional representation system.
The prison has 67 registered voters in total including inmates and staff members. However, security personnel assigned to other polling centres voted at their respective polling stations outside the prison.
In Saptari Prison, voting began at 7 am and concluded by late morning.
By around 11 am, 66 inmates and two staff members, including a presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer, had cast their votes.
Although the prison houses 391 inmates including women, men, children and elderly people, only 69 inmates were originally listed as eligible voters. One had been transferred and two had already been released, leaving the remaining inmates to cast their votes.