KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoist party demanded a postponement in vote counting early Thursday, alleging conspiracy after tentative results showed them trailing in polls seen as key to cementing a post-war peace process.
"Due to the conspiracy and unusual activities during the constituent assembly elections, counting did not go ahead as per people's expectations and opinions, therefore, we demand that the vote counting be postponed," the Maoist party said in a statement.
The Maoists, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known better as Prachanda, swept Nepal's first post-war polls in 2008, held two years after the former rebels ended a decade of fighting and entered politics.
They came to power promising social change, economic growth and lasting peace, but have since faced sharp criticism over their alleged corruption and taste for luxury.
Tentative results for directly elected seats in 150 out of 240 constituencies showed the Maoists trailing their opponents, with Prachanda currently coming in a distant third in his Kathmandu constituency.
Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety told a press conference early Thursday that the counting was being carried out in "a transparent manner" and would continue.
"An election is a way to understand people's verdict, I request all political parties to respect people's opinion," Uprety said.
Millions of Nepalis defied low expectations and threats of violence to vote in Tuesday's poll, registering a 70 percent turnout, according to preliminary figures released by the election commission.
Former US president Jimmy Carter, who is in Kathmandu to monitor the polls, said the elections were "a momentous step forward" for the Himalayan nation, which has been in the throes of a prolonged political crisis since war ended.
"The international observers, the domestic observers and all the major parties will say this was a surprisingly good and fair and already proven to be safe election," Carter told AFP in an interview Wednesday.
Political infighting since the 2008 polls has seen a string of coalition governments split and fail to write a draft constitution, forcing the collapse of the assembly in May 2012 and leaving the country frustrated over a lack of progress.
More than 100 parties, including three major ones -- the Unified Marxist-Leninist, the Nepali Congress and the Maoists -- have fielded candidates for the second constituent assembly, which will also serve as a parliament.
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