Nepal: Voting underway to elect new President

NEPAL: The voting is underway at Nepal's Parliament building in New Baneshwar, Kathmandu to elect a new President for the country and the results are expected to release at 7 PM (Local Time).

Election Commission has set up two separate polling stations for federal parliamentarians and the Province Assembly members have been set up in the Hall.

The Office of the Election Officer has said that the counting of votes would be started after the voting completes at 3 PM (NST) on Thursday and the results announced by 7 PM (NST).

Meanwhile, lawmakers from all provinces have arrived in Kathmandu for the election.A total of 884 members make up the Electoral College, including 275 members of the House of Representatives, 59 of the National Assembly and 550 of the seven provincial assemblies.

It means, there will be a total weightage of 52,786 votes in the Electoral College, if no seat in the federal parliament and provincial assembly is vacant.

A candidate must secure most of the votes to secure the top post. The weightage of one vote of the federal parliament lawmaker is 79 and that of the Province Assembly member is 48.

Pro-monarchy party to abstain from voting. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) known for its pro-monarchy instance has decided to abstain from Thursday's Presidential Election. A meeting of the party's central working committee held on Wednesday decided to abstain from today's voting.

RPP spokesperson Mohan Shrestha confirmed that the central working committee has decided to stay neutral in the presidential election. "It has been unanimously decided to not participate and stay neutral in the presidential election," Shrestha said.

In today's election, Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel is supported by eight parties while Subash Chandra Nembang the sole candidate from CPN-UML is expected to be supported by independent lawmakers. RPP had not supported or proposed any candidate for president.

Both Paudel and Nembang had later met RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden and other office-bearers at RPP's office and sought their votes in the election.

But RPP has decided to abstain from voting on the eve of the presidential election.

Most of the central working committee members had opined during Wednesday's five-hour-long meeting that the party should not participate in the presidential election as the party's agenda is the monarchy.