Nepal set to elect President on Wednesday

Nepal is all set to elect its new President in Parliament on Wednesday after political parties failed to come up with a consensus candidate.

With the promulgation of the Constitution on September 20, it was required to elect a new President within a month of the commencement of the Parliament session.

The Nepali Congress Party, the main opposition, has picked up its veteran leader Kul Bahadur Gurung as the candidate for President, whereas CPN-UML has named senior leader Vidya Devi Bhandari for the post. Narayan Maharjan of Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party has also filed nomination papers for the top post.

Incumbent President Ram Baran Yadav was elected as the first President of Nepal in 2008 after the country was declared a republic. Yadav was initially supposed to be in office for two years, but the constitution took seven years to be prepared and adopted because of differences between political parties.