Nepal concludes second round of presidential voting
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - The second round of voting for the first president in Nepal's history concluded this morning. The members of parliament began voting at 8 AM; the counting of the ballots began at one in the afternoon local time, and should be concluded by 4 PM, with the declaration of the winner.
The appointment of a head of state will put an end to a stalemate that has lasted for three months, after the vote of the constitutional assembly ratified the passage from the monarchy - in power for more than 240 years - to a federal democratic republic.
The election of the first head of state has been awaited since the end of May, and there are two candidates of Indian origin in the running: Rambaran Yadav, supported by the Nepalese Congress (last Saturday, he failed to win the first round of voting by a handful of votes, 15 out of the 298 expected) and Ramraja Prasad Singh, supported by the Maoist coalition. According to some sources, the minority parties including the Workers' Party supported Yadav, leader of the Democratic Alliance, overturning the forecasts of a win for the Maoist candidate Singh.
Although the post of head of state remains vacant, the members of the assembly have already selected the vice president, Paramananda Jha, also of Indian origin and a representative of the Madhesi ethnic minority. The vice president obtained 305 votes, 62 more than his Maoist-backed rival.
Speaking with AsiaNews just after his appointment, Paramananda Jha did not conceal his satisfaction, but at the same time was careful to point out that he will "fulfill [his] role in a free and impartial manner", looking always to the "interest of the country" and the integrity of the "national territory". "Every citizen has equal rights", the new vice president emphasizes, "and for this reason the minorities must also be protected". Paramananda Jha was born in the district of Saptari, in the southern region of Terai, on April 20, 1945. He was a judge in the national court, and ran as a candidate of the Madhesi Rights Forum, receiving the decisive support of the Democratic Alliance.
In the second round, an absolute majority will be sufficient for the election of the president: he will replace the deposed king Gyanendra as head of the country. After the abolition of the monarchy, the main political parties have been unable to reach an agreement aimed at the formation of a new government, because of serious internal problems, including the appointment of the president and the prime minister of the country.
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