KATHMANDU: Nepals parliament has elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari, currently the vice-chair of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), as the countrys first female president.
On Wednesday, Bhandari defeated her opponent Kul Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress Party by securing 327 to 214 votes, to become the Himalayan nations first female head of state.
In Nepal, the president is the ceremonial head of state, while the prime minister is the nations leader.
On October 12, the Nepalese parliament elected KP Sharma Oli, the chairman of the Communist Party as the new prime minister.