Ram Baran Yadav is Nepal’s first Prez

Doctor-turned-politician Ram Baran Yadav, who is also the general secretary of the Nepali Congress, has become the first president of the republic of Nepal.

As many as 590 of 594 members of the Constituent Assembly voted in Monday’s run-off to elect the president, which began at 8am and ended at 11am. Four members of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (Nepal) abstained from voting.

The re-polling of the presidential election was held as none of the three candidates could secure 298 votes on Saturday, the magic figure to register victory in the election.

In the re-poll, Yadav secured 308 votes while the Maoist-sponsored candidate Ram Raja Prasad Singh got 282 votes, officials at the secretariat of the Constituent Assembly, said.

Yadav’s candidature was supported mainly by the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum. The National People’s Front Nepal and the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, which had boycotted Saturday’s election, also voted for Yadav.

The first president would be sworn in on at 3pm on Tuesday. The oath of office would be administered by the chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court, Kedar Prasad Giri at a special function, officials said.

Thousands of Nepali Congress supporters gathered at the Birendra International Convention Centre, the venue of the Constituent Assembly, to congratulate Yadav and celebrate the victory.

“We are happy with his (Yadav’s) victory,” Prakash Man Singh, Nepali Congress vice-president, said. Victory rallies were taken out at different parts of the capital city of Kathmandu and Janakpurdham, Yadav’s hometown.

However, the Maoist leadership was not happy with the defeat of their candidate and veteran pro-republican leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh. The Maoists will not be part of the new government, senior Maoist leader Matrika Yadav said.