Kathmandu: Ram Chandra Poudel of Nepali Congress was elected as the new president of Nepal, amid increasing political instability in the country ruled by a fragile coalition headed by PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. Poudel got the support of 214 members of parliament and 352 members of the provincial assemblies as the common candidate of the eight-party coalition, which included the Nepali Congress and the Prachanda-led CPN (Maoist Centre).
“Congratulations to my friend Ram Candra Poudelji for being elected as the president,” Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted. With the support from eight parties, 78-year-old Poudel’s victory was certain. His rival Subas Chandra Nebmang had support of former PM KP Sharma-led CPNUML. On March 12, President Bidya Devi Bhandari's term will come to a close. Nearly 882 people, including 332 members of parliament and 550 representatives from each of the seven provinces' regional assemblies, are registered to vote in the presidential election. The Election Commission said 518 provincial assembly members and 313 MPs cast their votes. The outcome of the election could impact the stability of the government. Oli led CPN-UML, Nepal’s second largest party in parliament, withdrew its support to the ‘Prachanda’-led government following a rift over backing Poudel. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which has 28 representatives in the province assemblies and 14 members in the House of Representatives, made the decision to abstain from the election.