Nepal's Maoists extend lead

Katmandu: Nepal's former communist rebels have been declared the winners in 100 constituencies and are leading in most other areas as election voting continues.

Nepal's election commission said on Monday the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal had secured 100 seats out of 179 constituencies with more than two-thirds of the directly elected seats allocated.

The centrist Nepali Congress were trailing with 29 seats, while the United Marxist Leninists had just 24 seats.

Final results for the 601-seat Constituent Assembly are still a few weeks off, although officials say they should have a clearer picture of what it will look like later this week.