Kathmandu, March 4 -- The Election Commission (EC) has claimed that the results of the first-past-the-post election scheduled for March 5 will be made public within 24 hours of the counting beginning.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Ram Prasad Bhandari, the officiating chief election commissioner, said preparations were underway to promptly collect ballot boxes and announce results. He added that vote counting under the direct electoral system would proceed simultaneously across constituencies.

"It takes time to collect ballot boxes from hilly and mountainous areas, but we are making efforts to bring them as quickly as possible. In places where transportation is difficult, ballot boxes are collected using Nepali Army helico...