Nepal elects it’s first ever woman President
Shares
KATHMANDU: Bidhya Devi Bhandari received 327 votes against her opponent’s 214 in parliament, the speaker, Onsari Gharti Magar, announced. Bhandari is already the deputy leader of the ruling Marxist Leninist party led by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli. Oli won election earlier this month and presides over a broad coalition government that includes both communist and non communist parties. She has been a leading political figure since her husband, Madan Bhandari, who was then leader of the party, was killed in a car accident in 1993. The circumstances surrounding the accident remain unexplained. She said her election marked a first step toward assuring the new constitutional “guarantees of equality” are fulfilled. Last week, Onsari Gharti Magar was elected as the parliament’s first female Speaker. Ms Bhandari took up politics in her teens, later marrying a fellow Communist, Madan Bhandari. Ms Bhandari has been a leading political figure since 1993 when her husband was killed in a car accident. She led demonstrations against the former King Gyanendra in 2006, ending his authoritarian rule and restoring democracy in Nepal.
