Nepal has elected Ram Chandra Poudel as its next President, with the veteran politician defeating Subash Chandra Nembwang in Thursday’s presidential election. Poudel, who will be the Himalayan country’s third President, secured 33,802 electoral votes, while Newmbang received 15,518 electoral votes, reported news agency ANI, citing Nepal’s Election Commission.
The 78-year-old will succeed Bidya Devi Bhandari as Nepal’s Head of State. Dr Ram Baran Yadav was the inaugural holder of the office.
Meanwhile, here’s a brief profile of Ram Chandra Poudel:
(1.) A leader and central committee member of the Nepali Congress, he is a noted author who has published several books and is, therefore, a recipient of several literary awards.
(2.) Poudel is a former Speaker of the country’s Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives), the lower house of the Parliament of Nepal. He has also served multiple terms as the Member of Parliament (MP).
(3.) At various points during his political career, the senior leader held important posts such as the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, among others.
(4.) In 1970, he completed his MA in literature from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University. He appeared for his exams while under detention as an anti-panchayat leader.
(5,) He comes from a farmer’s family and was born in a remote village in Tanahun, western Nepal. He is father to five children: four daughters and a son.
