Ram Baran Yadav elected first President of Nepal (updated II)

by rahul | July 24, 2008 at 11:37 am | 304 views | 5 comments

Updates: According to RFI, the newly elected President of Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav, made an appeal to all parties to participate in a national unity government. President Ram Baran Yadav called on them to overcome political rivalries.

"Le président appelle à la formation d'un gouvernement d'union nationale par RFI. Article publié le 27/07/2008 Dernière mise à jour le 27/07/2008 à 22:06 TU. Le président de la République a lancé un appel solennel pour que tous les partis forment un gouvernement d'union nationale. C'était le premier discours de Ram Baran Yadav à la nation depuis sa prestation de serment le 23 juillet dernier. Le premier président de République fédérale du Népal a insisté sur la necéssité d'aller de l'avant malgré les rivalités politiques."

After inconclusive elections on Monday, the Nepali Congress Party candidate, Ram Baran Yadav, was elected on Wednesday by the Constituent Assembly of Nepal to become the first ever President of the country. His elections is the result of the abandonment of Maoist party candidate- Ram Raja Singh -from the presidential race. On Monday, Ram Raja Singh only received the backing of 282 votes of the 594-members Constituent Assembly, taht is, short of a 298 majority vote. His political rival Ram Baran Yadav, now President, was only four votes short a majority.

Ram Baran Yadav took oath on Wedenesday at Shital Niwas secretly. After the ceremony, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala from the Nepali Congress Party presented his resignation from prime ministership. A new government is to be formed now. Thus, the first and most meaningful task of President Ram Baran Yadav will be to both oversee the new constitution and to allow Maoist Party members participate in political institutions in Nepal. According to Nepal News, Maoist are now consulting leaders from other parties and activists over its participation in political life in Nepal, that is, fill in the prime ministership. The Maoist are currently the largest political force at the Nepali Constituent Assembly. On the other hand, Nepali Times suggested that Maoist refusal to fill in the presidential post should be interpreted as a political move to form a government. According to Kantipur online, Maoists have set three preconditions to form a government: "end the alliance of Nepali Congress (NC), UML and Madheis People’s Rights Forum (MPRF), to prepare a common minimum programme and give the vote of confidence to the government for at least two years". In the menawhile, Maoist would remain in the opposition.

President Ram Baran Yadav is a 61 medical doctor from Janakpur, the mythological place mentioned in the Hindu Epic Ramayana. Such coincidence and the fact that the new President has the name of one of Ram avatars, Ram, has been hailed as good omen.

Sources: Asia Times on Line, SignonSanDiego, IndianExpress, Nepal News, The Kathmansu Post, RSS, Nepali Times, The Himalayan Times, Kantipur online, The Rising Nepal,