Nepalese women wait in line to cast their votes. In mountain villages and Himalayan foothill towns people hope the election will bring government closer to rural and remote areas. Credit:AP "Except for some minor complaints from a few places, polling in all areas is smooth and peaceful so far," Ila Sharma, a member of the Election Commission said. Suresh Balsami was the first voter at Kagatigaun polling centre, about an hour's drive mostly on a dusty and winding road from capital Kathmandu. "I voted for peace, development and prosperity of the country," said the 32-year-old bus driver, as other voters began to trickle into the polling centre in a public school ringed by pine trees. Candidates have used everything from mules to drones flying their party flags to reach voters in remote areas with no roads, according to media reports.

A Nepalese man casts his vote on Sunday. Credit:AP A second phase of the election will take place on December 7, and the election commission has said that the final results probably won't be known for several days because of the cumbersome counting procedures. Battle for influence A Nepalese policeman assists voters, unseen, during the legislative elections in Balefi Nepal on Sunday. Credit:AP Nepal voted in 2008 and 2013 for a Constituent Assembly, which doubled as parliament, to write a post-monarchy charter that plotted the course to becoming a federal republic.

More than 15 million eligible voters will now pick a 275-member legislature, the first under a new constitution agreed after years of wrangling. A Nepalese policeman checks a man for weapons during the legislative elections in Chautara, Nepal, on Sunday. Credit:AP Simultaneously, voters will choose representatives to seven provincial assemblies for the first time since Nepal abolished the monarchy in 2008. The centrist Nepali Congress party, considered a pro-India group, has formed a loose electoral alliance with the Madhesi parties from the country's southern plains bordering India and former royalists. Facing the alliance is a tight-knit left coalition between the former Maoist rebels and the main opposition Communist UML party, perceived to be closer to China.

Wedged between India and China, Nepal needs to balance ties, but the outcome of the election could determine which of the Asian giants gets the upper hand in the battle for influence in the buffer state. Both are looking to benefit from Nepal's potential as a source of hydropower and have been lobbying for infrastructure projects to capitalise on the untapped potential of the rivers cascading from the snow-capped Himalayas. Home to Mount Everest, and one of the poorest countries in the world, Nepal depends on tourism and aid. More than one-fifth of its 28 million people survive on less than $2.50 a day, and parts of the country are still recovering from a devastating earthquake that killed 9000 people in 2015. Rita Shrestha, a 49-year-old housewife whose house was damaged in the tremor, rued the slow pace of reconstruction. "We need roads, water supply, electricity, health care and jobs so our children are not forced to go abroad to work," Shrestha, wrapped in a red woollen shawl, said after casting her vote.

Rocky road to democracy May 28, 2008 - Special Constituent Assembly elected in April votes to abolish the 239-year-old monarchy and turns Nepal into a republic. July 23, 2008 - The assembly elects Ram Baran Yadav as Nepal's first president. August 15, 2008 - Former rebel commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, is elected as prime minister. He had led a decade-long Maoist civil war that ended two years earlier. May 4, 2009 - Prachanda steps down following a row with the President over the sacking of the army chief, leading to political instability in the country.

May 28, 2010 - The Constituent Assembly extends its term after failing to deliver a new charter within the stipulated period of two years. May 28, 2012 - The assembly is dissolved without adopting any constitution amid wrangling among political parties. Nov 19, 2013 - A second Constituent Assembly is elected to continue the unfinished task of drafting the charter. April 25, 2015 - Worst earthquake on record jolts Nepal, killing 9000 people and bringing political parties together to adopt the charter and focus on reconstruction. September 20, 2015 - The Constituent Assembly approves the new charter, turning Nepal into a secular federal democratic republic. Ethnic Madhesis living in the southern plains reject the new charter, calling it discriminatory.

2015-2016 - More than 50 people killed during protests by the Madhesis demanding a unified homeland in their region. Activists block trade points with India leading to crippling fuel and medicine shortages. May-September 2017 - First elections to local bodies in 20 years are held. Lawmakers reject a government proposal to amend the constitution to meet some of the demands of the Madhesi minority. Loading November 26 - Historic vote for legislative assembly begins amid blasts blamed on Maoists. Pro-India and pro-China parties are pitted against one another. Reuters