KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepalis began voting in the second round of local elections on Wednesday, a key step towards holding a general election later this year that would complete a near decade-long democratic transition after the abolition of its monarchy.

The latest round of voting covers parts of the restive southern plains that border India and there are concerns about possible violence after Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), a group that dominates the area, said it would boycott the vote and called for a general strike.

In 2015 and 2016 scores of people were killed, mainly in clashes with police, in protests by the local ethnic Madhesi against a new constitution that they say leaves them marginalized and favors those living in the hills of the Himalayan nation.

The Madhesis are demanding a unified homeland, and greater participation in state organs including parliament, the judiciary, bureaucracy and the national army.

“Elections cannot be held before our demands are met,” said Hridayesh Tripathi, a RJPN leader.

The local elections - the first in Nepal since 1997 - mark an attempt by the government to restore democracy at the local level hit by a decade-long civil war that ended in 2006 and years of instability after the monarchy was abolished in 2008.

“This election will empower local bodies and open the floodgate of social and economic prosperity,” President Bidya Devi Bhandari said in a statement.

Television channels showed lines of voters carrying umbrellas bearing candidates’ pictorial symbols including a glass, torch light, house and rhinoceros, but no names.

The first phase of municipal polls was held on May 14 and a final round is set for September 18 after the end of the monsoon rains. Local polls serve as a barometer of public opinion ahead of parliamentary elections expected before the year end.

(This story was refiled to add missing words in 8th paragraph.) </s> KATHMANDU: Nepalis began voting in the second round of local elections on Wednesday, a key step towards holding a general election later this year that would complete a near decade-long democratic transition after the abolition of its monarchy. The latest round of voting covers parts of the restive southern plains that border India and there are concerns about possible violence after Rastriya Janata Party Nepal , a group that dominates the area, said it would boycott the vote and called for a general strike.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com. </s> FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Voting appeared to be peaceful on Saturday in Sierra Leone's runoff presidential election, which had been delayed by a few days after a court challenge of the first round.

Turnout in the West African nation was lower than in the first round on March 7. Security was tight and many streets were quiet for the holiday weekend.

The winner of the runoff will be tasked with helping Sierra Leone continue to rebuild after the devastating 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic as well as a deadly mudslide in August that claimed some 1,000 lives in the capital, Freetown.

The runoff vote had been set for Tuesday but was delayed after a ruling party member filed a court challenge alleging irregularities in the first round and a temporary injunction was issued, stalling preparations. The high court lifted the injunction early this week and the election commission asked for a few more days to prepare.

The opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party, which took 43.3 percent to the ruling All Peoples Congress party's 42.7 in the first round, has not held the presidency since 2007.

The opposition called the court challenge a delaying tactic and its candidate Julius Maada Bio, a former military leader, accused President Ernest Bai Koroma and the ruling party of "pushing us to the point of chaos in the country."

Koroma has served two terms and is barred by the constitution from running again.

Bio, who is making his second bid for the presidency after losing in 2012, stands to pick up votes from the 14 candidates eliminated in the first round.

The election is the fourth since Sierra Leone's brutal civil war ended in 2002, and the previous vote in 2012 was largely peaceful.

"We do not need any violence or confusion," said one voter, Tenneh Kamara. "All we need is to improve things for our nation so that we will be proud as citizens of this, our country."
Nepalis vote in the second round of local elections, a major step in the near decade-long transition from monarchy to democratic government. The first round was held on May 14, and the final round is scheduled for September 18, after the monsoon season. Parliamentary elections are expected later this year.