Around 70 percent votes cast for a candidate during the recently held local elections were invalid, according to a report by an organisation that observed the polls.

Democracy Resources Centre (DCR), a domestic election observer authorised to monitor the local elections by the Election Commission (EC), revealed in its final observation report released on Friday that 69.99 percent votes cast for a Dalit woman member in Pratappur Rural Municipality were invalid. 

Of the total 1,596 votes cast, only 479 votes were valid, the DCR said, highlighting the poor voter education. 

In the same rural municipality, 28.57 percent votes cast for the post of chairperson and 31.81 percent votes for vice-chairperson were invalid. 

Poor voter education programme and complicated ballot papers resulted in void votes, according to the DCR. 

Around 12.5 percent votes were invalid in all three rounds of local elections held on May 14, June 28 and September 18, according to the EC. 

“Whether the overwhelming participation of the people in the elections was meaningful should also be looked into given the high percentage void votes,” said Sudeep Pokharel, director of the DCR. 

The overall voter turnout in all three phases of elections had crossed 70 percent mark.