Police blamed rebels from the outlawed Maoist Communist Party for the deaths, which occurred in separate incidents in the remote hill districts of Kalikot and Jumla in north-western Nepal.

The Maoists have been urging a boycott of the polls.

A senior police spokesman told the BBC the rebels tried to attack polling booths set up in readiness for the first round of voting which is due on Monday.

The government has deployed a large number of security forces in areas affected by rebel activity and these clashes have been the only major violent incidents.

Stability the key

The main issue in this campaign has been stability, according to BBC Correspondent Daniel Lak, who is in Nepal.

Monday's voting will be followed by a second round two weeks later.

The election will be the third since the establishment of multi-party democracy in Nepal in 1991 after widespread unrest forced the King to concede the demands of democratic activists.

But since then, several governments have proved unstable and, according to many in Nepal, ineffectual.

The two leading contenders for office are:

• the centrist Nepali Congress
• the largest Communist party, the United Marxist Leninists

Though both participate in the current interim government, they are bitter rivals on the campaign trail.

Both have led minority governments in the past, and have been unable to stay in office or achieve their promises of development and stability.

Communist leader dies

The recent death of the Communist leader, Man Mohan Adhikari, has cast a shadow over his party's campaign.

A veteran of both the struggle against British rule in India more than 50 years ago and the more recent agitation for democracy in Nepal, Mr Adhikari was given a state funeral, while his party suspended its campaign as a mark of respect.