Lagatar24 Desk
Kathmandu, March 13: Senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel was sworn in as the third President of Nepal on Monday. Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki administered the oath to 78-year-old Paudel at a special ceremony at Sheetal Niwas, the President’s Office.
Ram Chandra Paudel sworn in as President of Nepal at the Presidential Palace in Kathmandu
(file photo) pic.twitter.com/bl9ooatWzx
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2023
A provision in Nepal’s constitution specifies that the President before assuming office shall take the oath of office and secrecy from the Chief Justice.
On Thursday, Ram Chandra Paudel was elected as the new Nepalese President. Paudel secured 33,802 electoral votes while his rival Subash Chandra Nembwang secured 15,518 electoral votes, according to Nepal’s Election Commission.
As per Nepal’s Election Commission, 313 members of the federal parliament took part in the voting while 518 members from the provincial assemblies also participated in the electoral process to pick the next president.
The voting took place at Nepal’s Parliament building in New Baneshwar, Kathmandu. The Election Commission in the Himalayan nation had set up two separate polling stations for federal parliamentarians and the Province Assembly members at the Hall.
Lawmakers from all provinces 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.
Notably, this was the third Presidential election in Nepal after the country became a republic in 2008. In the elections, Ram Chandra Paudel was supported by eight parties while his opponent, Subash Chandra Nembang, the sole candidate from CPN-UML, was backed by independent lawmakers.
Ram Chandra Poudel is a former Speaker of the Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives), the lower house of the Parliament of Nepal. He has also served multiple terms as a Member of Parliament (MP). During his political career, the senior leader held crucial portfolios such as the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, among others.
