<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Nepal's parliament members lined up Thursday to elect a new president, the third since the Himalayan nation abolished a centuries-old monarchy and became a republic.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The election of the president has fueled feuds among the main political parties and triggered political uncertainty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A total of 884 members of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies gathered in the capital, Kathmandu, to vote for the new president. The final results were expected to be announced Thursday night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both candidates in the presidential race are prominent career politicians.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ram Chandra Poudel is a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party and previously served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His opponent, Subash Chandra Nembang of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), has also previously served as Speaker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The national election in November last year left a hung parliament, leading to a fragile coalition government taking power.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's decision to support a candidate outside the coalition partners led to the alliance's biggest party pulling its support. As a result, Dahal was forced to seek a confidence vote in parliament later this month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Analysts say the presidential election and confidence vote could lead to further instability.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The phase of political instability in Nepal has not ended despite the fact we had a successful national election and a new coalition government in place,” said Dhruba Adhikary, an independent analyst in Kathmandu.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides facing the vote of confidence, Dahal also lost the support of three key political parties that were part of the initial coalition government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His tenure has had a rocky start even before he could address key issues facing the country of 30 million.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nepal is still struggling to recover from the economic troubles brought by COVID-19, which led to a drop in the number of foreign tourists coming to climb the country's mountain peaks and hike its trails. Reviving tourism is necessary to bolster Nepal's economy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dahal also must balance relations between Nepal's two giant neighbors, India and China. Both New Delhi and Beijing compete for influence in the tiny Himalayan nation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nepal's new prime minister typically begins his or her tenure with a visit to one of these countries, but Dahal has not yet announced any such plans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Political turmoil and frequent changes in government are nothing new in Nepal, where eight different governments have ruled in the past 10 years. AP/UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>