Election office set to hold Nepal's presidential election

Kathmandu, July 16 : As the major political parties of Nepal failed to forge a common agreement on the presidential candidate until Wednesday evening, the office of the Election Officer (OEO) is set to take the procedure of electing the first president of the newest republic from Thursday.

As part of the president election process, the OEO published the final votes list this afternoon.

Altogether 594 Constituent Assembly (CA) members are included in the list of voters who will be electing the country's first president and vice president on Saturday.

The OEC published the names of 593 votes out of 601-CA members saying that the election is still due to take place in five constituencies and three CA members are still to be sworn-in.

According to Kantipur sources, the election procedure will definitely move forward from Thursday if the political parties make no heady on the president and vice-president by 1 pm on Thursday.

Likewise, Ram Raja Prasad Singh took a candidacy form for the president. Singh lately remains far from the probable candidate for the presidential post though the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) had proposed him for the constitutional post earlier.

The political parties finally decided to put the issue to a vote at the CA to elect the country's first president after the deadlock over the appointment of president, vice-president and CA chair.

On Tuesday, the Constituent Assembly (CA) meeting passed the guidelines for electing the president.

The office has announced the election scheduled from 11 am till 2 pm on Saturday and the CA meeting to be held later would announce the names of first president and the vice president at 5pm.

ANI