Residents affected by Banke National Park have boycotted voting in parts of Dang District during the House of Representatives election. Polling stations at Deuti Secondary School in Babai Rural Municipality-7 and Janata Basic School in Babai-1 remained deserted with no voters as of 10:30am.

Polling officer Chiranjivi Khadka said none of the 682 registered voters at the Deuti Secondary School polling station had cast ballots. A similar situation was reported at Janata Basic School, which has 530 registered voters.

Local leaders from the National Park Affected Struggle Committee said residents decided to boycott the vote after their demands for relocation were not addressed. The affected communities say wildlife threats have increased since the area was declared a buffer zone around Banke National Park.