Communist leader Vidya Devi Bhandari was elected as Nepal’s first woman President by the parliament, weeks after it adopted a new landmark Constitution that declared the country a secular state.
54-year-old Bhandari, the Vice-president of CPN-UML and widow of late general secretary of the party Madan Bhandari, secured 327 votes against 214 votes of her rival veteran Nepali Congress leader Kul Bahadur Gurung.
She is the former defence minister of the Government of Nepal.
She succeeds incumbent Ram Baran Yadav who was elected as the country’s first President in 2008 after Nepal was declared a Republic following the abolition of a 240-year-old monarchy.
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.
BACKGROUND:
Under the Interim Constitution adopted in January 2007, all powers of governance were removed from the King of Nepal, and the Nepalese Constituent Assembly elected in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election was to decide in its first meeting whether to continue the monarchy or to declare a republic. During the suspension of the monarchy, Girija Prasad Koirala, then Prime Minister of Nepal, acted as Head of State. On 28 May 2008, the Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy. Koirala continued acting as Head of State until Ram Baran Yadav was sworn in as President in July 2008.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS UNDER NEPAL CONSTITUTION
Article 61. President: (1) There shall be a President in Nepal.
(2) The President shall be the head of the State. He/she shall perform his/her duties according to this Constitution and Federal laws.
(3) The President shall promote national unity of Nepal.
(4) Compliance and protection of the constitution shall be the main duties of the President.
62. Election of the President: (1) An electoral college, consisting of voting members of the Federal Parliament and the members of Provincial Assembly, shall elect the President. It shall be done as provided for in law with the difference of weightage in voting of the members of the Federal Parliament and the members of Provincial Assembly.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), it shall not be deemed to prevent the formation of an electoral college for the use of the election of the President simply because of the reason that an election of Provincial Assembly has not been held in any province.
(3) The person who receives majority votes of the total number of existing members of the Electoral College as provided for in clause (1), shall be elected as President.
(4) If any candidate fails to receive majority votes according to clause (3), there shall be a second round of voting between the two candidates who receive the highest votes, and a person getting more than fifty percent of vote in this voting shall be elected as President.
(5) If none of the two candidates obtain more than fifty percent of the votes in the voting held under clause (4), then a re-voting will be conducted. Any person getting the majority of votes cast in this re-voting shall be elected as President.
(6) If a person who is elected to the position of the President already holds a political position through election, nomination, or appointment, the position held by such a person shall automatically become vacant.
(7) The election of the President and other related arrangements shall be as provided for by law
63. Term of Office of President: (1) The term of the President shall be for five years.
(2) The President whose term has expired pursuant to clause (1), shall continue to work according to this Constitution until the newly elected President joins the office.
64. Qualifications of the President: (1) A person shall be eligible to be President if he/she fulfils the following qualifications:
(a) He/she is eligible to be a member of the Federal Parliament.
(b) He/she has attained at least 45 years of age, and
(c) Is not ineligible by any law.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), a person who has already been elected President for two terms, shall not be eligible to be a Presidential candidate for the Presidential election thereafter.
65. The circumstances in which the President ceases to hold office: The President shall cease to hold office under the following circumstances:
(a) If a written resignation is tendered to the Vice-President.
(b) If an impeachment motion against the President is passed pursuant to
Article 101;
(c) If the term of office expires
(d) If he/she dies
66. Functions, duties and powers of the President: (1) President shall exercise his/her rights and duties as provided for by this constitution and Federal laws
(2) While exercising rights under clause (1), the President shall perform all the works with the consent and recommendation of the Council of Ministers, except in case where the works have to be performed expressly under the recommendation of some agency or official. Such consent and recommendation shall be made to the President through the Prime Minister.
(3) The decision or order made in the name of the President as provided for by clause (2) and the certification of credentials in that regard, shall be done as specified by Federal law.
