Election Day Photos: A Nepali boy greets President Carter outside a polling station on Nov. 19, in Kathmandu, Nepal. (All Photos: The Carter Center/D. Hakes)
A polling official demonstrates that the ballot box is empty before sealing it.
A polling official seals the ballot box before voting begins.
President Carter walks to a polling station in Kathmandu, Nepal.
An official counts the number of ballots remaining in the stack at a Kathmandu polling station.
Sangita Shrestha waits for voting to begin in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on Nov. 19.
President Carter and Carter Center observer Ambassador Peter Burleigh complete their checklist in Kirtipur.
Mahendra Gwacha, an egg seller by profession, was hired as a temporary policeman for the election. In this role, he helps keep the peace at a polling station. He is proud to be a part of this process, and wants to contribute to a peaceful election.
A Nepal military personnel looks on at a polling station in Kirtipur.
A woman casts her vote in Kirtipur.
A polling official checks a voter's ID card.
The head of a polling center in Kathmandu. "It is a great day," he said.
President Carter talks with polling officials in Kathmandu.
Ambassador Peter Burleigh and President Carter observe the poll closing process in Kathmandu. A cloth bag is put over the ballot box, which is then sewn shut.
After the bag is sewn shut, wax seals are stamped on it. Here the wax is melted by candle to prepare for the stamp.
After casting her ballot this morning in Bhaktapur, 33-year-old Sangita Shrestha felt joy, but the feeling was tempered by a stern message she had for those who will be elected to Nepal's new constituent assembly, "Do your job properly and draft a new constitution as soon as possible."
The country's first assembly, elected in 2008 in an election also monitored by The Carter Center, failed to draft a constitution and was dissolved in May 2012. Many hope this election will move the country forward out of political deadlock.
In preparation for the Nov. 19 constituent assembly elections, 66 Carter Center observers were deployed throughout Nepal in a delegation co-led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai. Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, and counting begins tomorrow in most parts of the country. The Center will release its preliminary findings on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Please sign up below for important news about the work of The Carter Center and special event invitations.
