Voting for the first phase of federal parliament and provincial assembly elections held in 32 mountainous and hilly districts on Sunday have officially ended with the clock striking 5 pm.

The election that began from 7 am was scheduled to officially end at 5 pm. It is, however, learnt that the voting will continue in the places where voters have already queued up and waiting for their turn.

In the districts where voting has completed, preparations are being made to seal the ballot boxes and dispatch them to the respective district headquarters.

The ballot boxes in the remote mountain regions will be moved to district headquarters on Monday with the help of helicopter, according to the Election Commission (EC).

EC is yet to disclose the official figure of voter turnout. However, it is expected to be around 65 percent. The voter turnout in local level elections concluded in September stood at 73 percent.

It is learnt that Nepal Army will take care of the ballot boxes till the completion of second phase of elections. The vote counting will begin after the completion of second phase polls.