Republic of Nepal elects first president

Ram Baran Yadav after the victory Lawmakers in Nepal have voted to elect Ram Baran Yadav as the South Asian country's first head of state since it became a republic in May. On Saturday, the Nepali Congress Party candidate came within an inch of an absolute majority in the first round of the presidential elections, also contested by his archrival the Maoists' candidate Ramraja Prasad Singh. The Maoists' defeat raises the question whether they would act on a threat they issued earlier saying that they would not proceed with forming the government if their candidate was not elected. Ramraja Prasad Singh "we haven't decided how the Maoist party is going to go ahead…we might not go to form the government, but we haven't decided yet," Maoists' spokesman Krishna Mahara was quoted by AFP as saying. Nepal's 240-year-old monarchy came to an end in May after the Maoists clinched the most seats in the new Constituent Assembly the month before. At their first gathering, the assembly declared the country a federal democratic republic. HN/MMN