KATMANDU, Nepal, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- More than 60 percent of Nepal's eligible voters cast ballots Tuesday to elect a second Constituent Assembly, the chief election commissioner said.
Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety predicted a more than 65 percent voter turnout for the election by the time polls closed at the end of the day, The New York Times reported.
"It is a grand success, if I may say so," he said. "We are very happy to see the participation of voters and the cool mind-set of the political parties and candidates."
The turnout was strong despite vows by a powerful Maoist group to disrupt the election process Tuesday.
In Katmandu, a bomb exploded near a polling station, critically injuring Samir Khadgi, 8, the Times said. The bomb went off when the child touched it.
Tuesday's election is for a 601-member Constituent Assembly, which will include 240 elected under a direct voting system and proportionate voting for 335 other seats. The remaining 26 members will be nominated by the government.
The newly elected assembly would be tasked with completing a draft constitution, something that has remained unfinished for five years despite several deadline extensions because of squabbling among political parties.
