Suhang Nembang of CPN-UML emerged victorious from Ilam-2 in the by-election conducted by the Election Commission on Saturday.

As per the vote count results updated by the commission, Nembang won the House of Representatives seat by garnering 27,772 votes while his closest rival Dambar Bahadur Khadka of the Nepali Congress secured 21,942 votes.

Independent candidate Dakendra Singh Limbu, who was supported by various groups advocating for identity-based politics in the province, finished third with 11,457 votes while Milan Limbu of Rastriya Swatantra Party stood fourth with 5,050 votes.

The Election Commission conducted the bypoll in the constituency that remained vacant after the death of former Speaker and Constituent Assembly chair Subas Nembang in September last year.

The CPN-UML, the second-largest party in the House of Representatives, fielded Suhang Nembang, son of the former Speaker, and he was supported by another ruling party CPN (Maoist Centre).

“The entire credit of my victory goes to the people of Ilam and my party CPN-UML,” Suhang Nembang said after the announcement of his victory. “It was not possible if the party had not given me this opportunity and had the people not given the votes.”

As many as 19 candidates contested the Ilam-2 bypoll.

In Ilam-2, a total of 115,889 individuals were eligible to vote, but only around 69,287 took part in the voting.

During the 2022 federal election, UML’s Subas Nembang beat Khadka by a narrow margin of 114 votes. The CPN (Maoist Centre) had supported Congress candidate Khadka then but now the Maoist Centre has allied with the UML.

The UML leader Subas Nembang had continuously won the constituency since the 1999 general elections.

Likewise, UML candidate Daman Bahadur Bhandari was elected as a member of the Sudurpaschim Assembly on Monday after defeating his closest rival by a margin of 267 votes.

Of the 30,337 votes cast in election, Bhandari garnered 11,613 votes while Abhishek Bahadur Singh of the Nepali Congress obtained 11,346 votes.