Nepal's presidential race heads to runoff vote.
KATHMANDU, July 19 KyodoNepal held its first presidential election on Saturday but no single candidate won a simple majority of votes, state-run Nepal Television said.
The special assembly elected in April is yet to set the date for the runoff. It will meet later Saturday.
Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress party received 294 votes, just four votes short of a simple majority, the report said.
His closest contender, Ram Raja Prasad Singh, who was nominated by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), garnered 284 votes.
Though the presidential vote was inconclusive, former Supreme Court Justice Paramananda Jha was elected vice president.
Jha, who was nominated by the Madhesi People's Rights Forum, the fourth largest party in the assembly, received over 300 votes, the report said.
Jha defeated his main rival, Shanta Shrestha, a feminist leader nominated by the Maoists, by over 50 votes, the television report said. The Maoist party is the largest in the assembly.
There were three candidates running for president and four for vice president.
Nepal decided to elect a president as head of state after the special assembly abolished the 240-year-old monarchy in May.
The special assembly was elected as part of a peace process with former Maoists rebels, whose 10-year insurgency that ended in 2006 left over 13,000 people dead.
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| Publication: | Asian Political News |
|---|---|
| Date: | Jul 28, 2008 |
| Words: | 219 |
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