Nepal set to hold Presidential election today

Nepalese lawmakers on March 9 began voting to elect a new President, the outcome of which could impact the stability of the government headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda". Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress and Subash Chandra Nembang of the CPN-UML are vying for the top post.The voting started at 10 am local time at the New Baneshwar-based Parliament building here.The tenure of the current President, Bidya Devi Bhandari, will end on March 12.

Election Commission will begin counting votes at 4 pm and declare the results by 7 pm.Nepal's Election Commission said on March 8 that all preparations for the big-ticket election have been completed.The Presidential election is a face-off between two former Speakers of the House of Representatives — Mr. Paudel, a candidate backed by the eight-party alliance led by Prime Minister Prachanda, and CPN-UML's Mr. Nembang.Mr. Paudel, 78, and Mr. Nembang, 69, filed their nominations last month.Former Prime Minister KP Sharma-led CPN-UML, Nepal's second largest party in Parliament, withdrew its support to Prime Minister "Prachanda"-led government following a rift over backing Mr. Paudel for the Presidential poll.