NEPAL TO HOLD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ON 9 MARCH

Nepal will hold Presidential elections on 9 March, said the Election Commission of Nepal. The Election Commission of Nepal also decided to hold the vice presidential elections on March 17. Notably, Nepal’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari is due to retire on March 13. Her successor is being elected four days in advance. The Nepal Vice President’s election is due to be held one day before incumbent Nanda Bahadur Pun retires. Nepal Constitution has a provision of electing the president and vice president through an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of the federal parliament and all seven provincial assemblies. The weights of votes of lawmakers of federal parliament and provincial assemblies are different. According to the office of the President of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari is the second president of Nepal after the Himalayan nation adopted the democraticrepublican system. Bidya Devi Bhandari is the first female president to be elected by the parliament on 28 October 2015 after the promulgation of the new constitution, according to the Nepal President’s office. She was elected for her second term on 13 March 2018 after the completion of her first term.