KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist Standing Committee member Nanda Bahadur Pun has been elected as the Vice-President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

During the election held at the Legislature-Parliament building on Saturday, out of 596 lawmakers, 547 lawmakers cast their votes.

Pun garnered 325 votes while Yadav accumulated 212 votes.

Pun had gathered 26 votes more than 299 votes that he needed to be elected as the Vice-President.

Ten votes were declared invalid.

During the presidential election, however, there were 597 lawmakers. Of them, the then CPN-UML lawmaker Bidya Devi Bhandari has already resigned from the Parliament after her election to the post of President.

Speaker Onsari Gharti declared Pun as the new Vice-President of the nation during the Parliament meeting.

Pun, the former commander of the People's Liberation Army, was proposed by CPN-UML senior leader Jhalanath Khanal for the post of Vice-President while Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal Chief Whip Dilnath Giri and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Democratic leader Yogendra Chaudhary seconded Khanal’s proposal.

As the chief of rebel army, Pun made a significant contribution in completion of the peace process including army integration.

Pun had contested in the second Constituent Assembly elections from Kathmandu-4. He, however, was defeated by popular Nepali Congress leader Gagan Kumar Thapa.

Before his election to the post of Vice-President, he has never taken any office of benefit from the state.

Paramananda Jha began his first term of office as the first Vice-President of Nepal on 23 July 2008 by taking the oath of office from former President Ram Baran Yadav.

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Nanda Bahadur Pun: Former chief of rebel army is now Nepal’s Vice-President

547 lawmakers cast votes in Vice-presidential election