Nepal elects its first woman president

Kathmandu: Vidya Devi Bhandari from the ruling CPN-UML was on Wednesday elected as Nepal's first woman President after she defeated her rival from Nepali Congress by more than 100 votes.

Bhandari, 54, the Vice-president of CPN-UML and widow of late general secretary of the party Madan Bhandari, secured 327 votes against 214 votes of her rival Veteran Nepali Congress leader Kul Bahadur Gurung.

The new President will succeed incumbent Ram Baran Yadav who was elected as the first President of Nepal in 2008 after the country was declared a Republic.

With the promulgation of the Constitution on September 20, it was required to elect a new President within a month of the commencement of the Parliament session.