Voting peaceful in Nepal by-election (Roundup)

Kathmandu - Voting ended peacefully Friday in by-elections to fill six vacant seats in Nepal's Constituent Assembly in contests seen as a test of the Maoists' popularity. Just more than 444,000 citizens were eligible to cast their ballots, deciding who among 139 candidates, including 10 women, would become members of the assembly, which is Nepal's interim legislature and has also been tasked with drafting a new constitution. Nepal's Election Commission said there was moderate turnout of voters in all six constituencies and the preliminary turnout had been put at around 50 per cent. 'The voting was generally peaceful and went ahead without problems,' the Election Commission said. 'We expect all the results to come in by Saturday evening.' Election officials said polling stations opened at 8 am (0345 GMT) in five districts in western and eastern Nepal and were open for nine hours. The seats fell vacant after politicians who contested and won two constituencies in last year's elections were asked to give up one of their seats. A constituency in Dhanusha district fell vacant after Ram Baran Yadav vacated his seat after he was elected president. For the first time in Nepal, all 490 polling stations in the six constituencies used electronic voting machines. There are speculations that the voter turnout was lower than in previous elections as citizenship certificates were mandatory for identification and many voters were unaware about the new provisions. Voting took place in Rolpa, Kaski and Kanchanpur in western Nepal, two constituencies in the Morang district and one in the Dhanusha district in eastern Nepal. Security was tight in all constituencies with hundreds of extra security personnel deployed, the government said. International borders with India were also sealed to prevent cross-border crime during voting. The election is seen as a test of Maoist popularity since the former revolutionaries formed a coalition government last year. The Maoists emerged as the single largest party in the 601-member assembly after elections in April 2008, two years after giving up their armed insurgency. The Maoists have, however, come under growing criticism from members of their coalition as well as the opposition Nepali Congress who accuse them of continuing violence, intimidation and extortion.