Campaigning was due to have ended on Monday
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At least seven Maoist activist in Nepal have been shot dead by the security forces in the west of the country, the party says.
The Maoist leader in the district of Dang told the BBC 15 more were injured.
The incident happened after a scuffle between the Maoists and youths employed by a local candidate of a rival party standing in Thursday’s election.
The police have confirmed only six deaths, in the worst single incident of election-related violence so far.
Reports say that the Maoists were shot by the Armed Police Force, a paramilitary unit closely involved in election security.
The local Maoist leader said the shootings happened after his party activists detained more than 40 youths who, he alleged, were being used by a local candidate of the Nepali Congress party for electoral malpractice, reports the BBC’s Charles Haviland in Kathmandu.
But reports quote the police as saying the Maoists tried to attack a vehicle being used by the Congress man. They confirmed to the BBC that there had been six deaths but then went out of contact.
Security is tight ahead of the vote with tens of thousands of police officers deployed across the country.
A Communist election candidate, Rishi Raj Sharma, was shot dead on Tuesday by unknown gunmen near the south-eastern town of Nepalgunj.
Political parties were meant to stop all campaigning, speeches and rallies on Monday night but correspondents say it has been common in the past for parties to defy the rules.
Pivotal vote
It is the first election since 1999 and follows the Maoists’ decision to quit their armed struggle against Nepal’s government in 2006.
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NEPAL KEY FACTS
Nepal has a population of 26.4 million
It contains eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains
It was formerly the world’s last Hindu kingdom
Eighty percent of Nepalis are Hindus
Nearly one third of Nepalese live on less than $1 a day
More than 80% live on the land
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The election is for an assembly which will re-write the constitution and the new body is likely to abolish the monarchy.
King Gyanendra seized absolute power in 2005 but was forced to give up his authoritarian rule the following year after weeks of pro-democracy protests.
He has since lost all his powers and his command of the army.
Former US president Jimmy Carter is in Nepal – as one of numerous foreign election observers – from his Atlanta-based Carter Center.
Around 17.6 million people are eligible to vote on Thursday.
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