KATHMANDU, Nepal – Narayan Dahal has been elected as the new Speaker of Nepal’s National Assembly. In a vote held on Tuesday, Dahal secured 39 votes in his favor. Opposition candidate Yubaraj Sharma received 17 votes. A total of 56 MPs were present during the voting.
Urmila Aryal, the acting Speaker, announced Dahal’s election given that his vote count represents a majority of the current membership in the National Assembly.
Dahal represented the coalition of ruling parties, which included the CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Center, CPN United Socialist Party, and Janata Samajwadi Party.
The proposal in favor of Sharma, whom Nepali Congress and LSP backed, was rejected by a majority vote before Dahal’s election.
