3 registered for presidency, 4 for vice-prez

Three candidates have been registered for the post of president and four for the vice president as of the deadline fixed by the election commission for 5 PM today.

CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) have filed the names of their candidates for the president and vice president.

With the political parties failing to pick consensus on candidates for the presidential post, the commission has said it will elect the president and the vice through voting on Saturday.

The three men--Ram Raja Prasad Singh, Ram Baran Yadhav and Ram Prit Pashwan-- all named Ram after a revered incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, are vying for a largely symbolic post that is likely to take over some of the ceremonial duties previously carried out by the abolished king.

However, none of the parties have put forward high-profile candidates.

Analysts say the Maoists went for a lesser-known candidate so that the position does not become a powerful one.

The Maoist has proposed its Constituent Assembly (CA) lawmaker professor Shanta Shrestha for the vice presidential post.

Likewise, the NC has registered its General Secretary Dr Yadav as presidential candidate and central member Maan Bahadur Bishwakarma as vice presidential candidate.

The UML has proposed the name of former national assembly vice chairman Paswan for president and central member Asta Laxmi Shakya for vice president.

Similarly, the MPRF has expressed solidarity to the candidacy of Ram Raja Prasad Singh, proposed by the Maoist, for the presidential post. It has registered the name of Parmananda Jha for the vice presidential post.

The candidates included in the final name-list will be contesting in the elections that will be carried out on Saturday from 11am to 2pm.

The Constituent Assembly will announce the country’s first president and the vice president on the same day at 5.