KATMANDU, Nepal—The leader of Nepal's Maoist party, who appears to have lost in this week's national election, demanded Thursday that the vote counting be stopped because of what he called massive irregularities.


"We are demanding an immediate stop to the vote counting and an independent probe into the allegations," Dahal said, adding his party could boycott the Constituent Assembly if its demands are not addressed.



Dahal lost by a huge margin in Katmandu's No. 10 constituency but he is also contesting from Siraha in southern Nepal where he appear to be strong contender. It is not against the rules and common for top politicians to contest in two seats to boost their chances of winning.






The Constituent Assembly, which was set up as part of the peace process, was first elected in 2008 but failed to complete the task of writing a new constitution. Tuesday's election was to elect a new assembly to attempt again at writing a constitution.

More than 70 percent of the 12 million eligible voters cast their votes during Tuesday's election to choose the 601-member Constituent Assembly that would double as the parliament.

