Election process begins for the post of speaker and deputy speaker

The newly-elected Speaker of Nepal’s Parliament Onsari Gharti Magar (C, front) waves after the election at parliament house, Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 16, 2015.

“She has become the first woman speaker of Nepal, with the backing of all the parties”, spokesman for Nepal’s parliament secretariat Bharat Gautam, told AFP.

As per Article 297 of Nepal’s Constitution 2015, the election of heads of the country’s constitutional bodies should be held within a month of commencement of the parliamentary session. Gharti was elected unanimously to the post after Nepal Workers and Peasants Party withdrew the candidacy of its lawmaker Anuradha Thapa Magar.

Oct 18, 2015- The process to elect the new President and Vice President will start at the first meeting of Legislature-Parliament after Dashain, which has been scheduled for October 24. Following this, K P Sharma Oli was elected as the new prime minister defeating incumbent Sushil Koirala in a contest. Gharti was backed by the ruling coalition, consisting of CPN-UML, UCPN-Maoist, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic and a few fringe parties.

The constitution, the first drawn up by elected representatives, is aimed at bolstering the Himalayan country’s transformation to a peaceful democracy after decades of political instability and a civil war.