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Ram Chandra Paudel has been chosen to serve as the new president of Nepal. Since 2008, when Nepal became a republic, there have been three presidential elections. The incumbent president, Bidya Devi Bhandari, will leave office on March 12.
Last month, Paudel, 78, and Nembang, 69, submitted their nominations. Both of the presidential contenders are well-known career politicians. Ram Chandra Poudel is a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party and former Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Subash Chandra Nembang, his rival and member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), has also held the position of Speaker before.
Voting took place at Nepal’s Parliament in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu
At Nepal’s Parliament in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, voting took place. For federal lawmakers and members of the Provincial Assembly, the Election Commission in the Himalayan nation has set up two distinct polling places at the Hall.
For the election, legislators from every province have landed in Kathmandu. The Electoral College has 884 total members, comprising 275 from the House of Representatives, 59 from the National Assembly, and 550 from each of the seven provincial assemblies.
Paudel was backed by eight parties, while the lone CPN-UML candidate, Subash Chandra Nembang, was thought to have the backing of independent parliamentarians.
In addition, 518 members of the provincial assembly and 313 members of the federal parliament participated in the vote to choose the next president, according to the Nepalese Election Commission.
RPP neutrality in the Presidential Election
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) which has 14 representatives in the House and 28 in the provincial assembly, made the decision to abstain from the presidential election.
According to RPP Spokesperson Mohan Shrestha, the party’s Central Working Committee unanimously decided to remain neutral in the presidential election for two main reasons: the party supports constitutional monarchy and it thinks the two candidates can’t play a neutral role as intended by the Constitution because they are both involved in politics.
The Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) likewise abstained from voting in the presidential contest. While claiming that there are no fundamental differences between the Nepali Congress and CPN-positions on domestic and international problems, Secretary Prem Suwal has chosen not to vote in the presidential election. The NWPP has three MPs in Bagmati Province and one Member in the House of Representatives.
No presidential candidate had been presented or endorsed by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). Paudel and Nembang visited the RPP office to meet with Rajendra Lingden, the party’s chairman, and other officeholders in order to solicit their support for them in the election. On the night before the presidential election, RPP made the decision to not cast a ballot, though.
At a five-hour meeting on Wednesday, the majority of the central working committee members expressed their opinion that the party shouldn’t take part in the presidential election because it adheres to its basic platform, which supports the restoration of the monarchy.
The central working committee has resolved to maintain its neutrality in the presidential election, according to RPP spokesperson Mohan Shrestha.
It has been unanimously determined to abstain from voting and maintain neutrality in the upcoming presidential election, according to Shrestha.
On Wednesday, the Nepali Election Commission declared that all election-related preparations were finished. At the parliament building in New Baneshwor, voting began at 10 am local time and ended at 3 pm.
There are 550 members of the provincial legislatures from the seven provinces and 332 members of the parliament, making up the total number of voters for the election of the president, which is 882.
518 members of the Province Assembly and 313 members of the Federal Parliament cast ballots in the presidential election, according to Shaligram, the Election Commission’s spokesperson.
Poudel stated his belief in the parliamentarians’ ability to choose him. “I have complete faith in the support of the members of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. They’ll assess my protracted struggle fairly, in my opinion “he stated.
Crisis in ruling coalition
An unstable coalition administration came to power as a result of the hung parliament caused by the national election in November of last year.
A member of the province assembly receives 48 votes, compared to 79 for a federal MP. A person may be elected to the position of President only twice throughout their lifetime; the term of service is five years from the election date.
Despite the fact that the position of President mostly serves a ceremonial function, Nepal’s political parties have recently shown an increasing interest in it due to the post’s latitude that the Constitution grants it.