Nepalis Vote on Constituent Assembly

Voters among Nepal's 27 million people are going to the polls Tuesday to elect a new 601-member constituent assembly, which will be tasked with drawing up a constitution to end years of political uncertainty.

The vote is only the second since the conclusion of Nepal's civil war in 2006. The 2008 election resulted in a series of short-lived governments that failed to establish stability in the ethnically diverse nation.

Tuesday's voting has so far been marred by at least one violent incident; an explosion in the capital, Katmandu, wounded three people, including a child. Police said the blast was caused by a bomb at a polling station.

In precautions against violence, police have banned most vehicles from the roads, leaving people to walk to their polling stations and choose among candidates from more than 100 political parties. The government has called a four-day holiday to allow people time to travel back and forth.

Results are expected to emerge next week after vote counts start arriving from Nepal's remote mountain villages.