The Election Commission (EC) has fixed March 9 and March 17 as the dates for holding the elections of the president and vice-president respectively after consulting Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari's five-year term ends on March12 whereas Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun's tenure ends on March 17. The presidential elections are being held without amending the existing law on electing the president and vice-president.

Although the constitution has stipulated that the tenure of the president and vice-president shall be of five years from the date of their election, the law related to it has stated that elections of both the posts should be held one month before they retire from office.

The main opposition, the Nepali Congress, had been calling for amending the law before announcing the dates for the presidential elections. Ishowri Poudel was the only commissioner who was insisting that the legal provision should be honoured. Other commissioners, however, decided to follow the constitution.

The president and vice-president are elected by an electorate college comprising members of the federal parliament - House of Representatives and National Assembly - and provincial assemblies. However, the voting weightage of the members of the federal parliament and members of the provincial assembly is different. Voting weightage of a member of the federal parliament is 79 and that of a provincial member is 48. As two members of the federal parliament cannot take part in the voting process due to their suspension and Rabi Lamichhane's membership has been revoked, the total weightage of the federal parliament is 26,228 and that of the provincial members is 26,400. The total weightage of both is 52,628, and the winner needs to secure more than 50 per cent of the valid votes cast. As per the EC's schedule, the voting list for the presidential election will be published on February 22. Candidates contesting the presidential poll can file nomination on February 25.

Unlike in 2018, the presidential election this time around is quite unpredictable because of the fractured mandates in the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. The outcome of the presidential election largely hangs with the CPN-Maoist Centre, which has more than 9,000 votes. A candidate who secures the Maoist backing will be elected to the top post. Therefore, after winning the vote of confidence in the House on January 10, PM Dahal has been insisting on electing the head of the state on 'consensus basis' so that the presidential office functions without any controversy as in the past. The NC and CPN- UML are the main contestants for the top post. However, electing a president on consensus basis is easier said than done. Dahal, who has just 32 seats in the HoR, rose to power because of the UML's and other fringe parties' support. If PM Dahal betrays the UML in the presidential poll, his government could fall immediately, and the NC could form a new government either under Article 76 (2) or under 76 (3) of the constitution with the UML's backing. Though largely ceremonial, the presidential post has now become very crucial for the political parties because of the roles the two presidents played during critical moments.

The ceremonial presidential post has now become very crucial during critical moments

A version of this article appears in the print on February 1, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.