KATHMANDU, March 19: Incumbent Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun has been reelected to the post for the next five years on Sunday.
Vice President Pun poised to get reelected today
As Pun was the only candidate for the post, the Election Commission, as per the election law, officially announced that he was elected unopposed saying that the election scheduled for March 23 was not necessary. Former Maoist leader Pun had filed his candidacy on Saturday with the backing of the ruling left alliance. Given its minority in the electoral college of the voters, the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) didn't field its candidate.
Earlier, President Bidya Bhandari was also reelected to the post with the backing of the ruling left alliance.
Pun, 53, was born in Rangsi of Rolpa and served as chief commander of the Maoist combatants prior to their adjustment in the Nepal Army. Pun had lost in the parliamentary polls from Kathmandu in 2013. Later he was elected vice president in October 2015 after the promulgation of the new constitution.
The vice president has a master's degree in political science. He started his career as teacher at a local school in Rolpa prior to joining Maoist politics. During the insurgency, the government had put a Rs 35 million bounty on his head. Pun also sustained a bullet injury to his arm prior to the Maoist insurgency while trying to avoid arrest by police.
His candidacy was proposed by Pampha Bhusal and Rekha Sharma of CPN (Maoist Center) and Subash Nembang, Parsuram Meghi Gurung and Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal of CPN-UML and it was seconded by Jayapuri Gharti and Rajendra Gautam of UML and Ram Narayan Bidari, Onsari Gharti and Dev Gurung of the Maoist Center.
