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| India-Pakistan |
| Nepal to elect first head of state |
| 2008-07-20 |
| Nepal's lawmakers will elect the country's first president today, with the Maoist-backed candidate Ram Raja Prasad Singh likely to be the first All of the three largest political parties in the newly elected Constituent Assembly have fielded candidates from the Madhesi, the southern ethnic group that has been the source of unrest since the Maoists laid down their arms two years ago. Mr Singh, 73, an ardent republican, said he would work at "institutionalising the republic" in the Himalayan nation. He is the likely winner, as the Maoists hold 226 seats in the 601-member assembly. The Nepali Congress, the second largest party, has fielded Dr Ram Baran Yadav, 61. UML, the Communist Party of Nepal, has fielded Ram Preet Paswan, 55. The selection means that a Madhesi will become the first head of the state after the end of 240-year old Shah dynasty in May. The Madhesis have been demanding equal rights in bureaucracy and all other aspects of governance since January 2007, when the country scrapped the old constitution and introduced a new interim constitution. They delayed the election of the president and formation of the new government by more than two weeks, by disrupting the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly. The efforts of the political party to placate the Madhesis, who make up 31 per cent of the population, have been largely accepted by the people. "It is a welcome move but the Madhesi leader should also champion the Madhesi cause; not all the candidates are real pro-Madhesis," said Ram Rijhan Yadav, editor of the weekly publication Purva Saptahik . The Maoist party has fielded its leader, Shanta Shrestha, as its candidate for the vice presidency. |
| Posted by:Steve White |