KATHMANDU, July 19 (Xinhua) -- No Nepali president candidate won simple majority support from Constituent Assembly (CA) members in Saturdays elections, local TV channel Avenues reported.

However, the vice president candidate from the Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum (MPRF) Parmananda Jha has won over half with 305 seats. He will be the first vice president of the youngest republic in the world.

According to the report, Ram Baran Yadav proposed by the Nepali Congress (NC) bagged 294 seats which was four seats less to get simple majority support, while Ram Raja Prasad Singh proposed by the single largest party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) for presidential post, won 288 CA members support.

The report also said the election committee of the CA was recounting the votes and the results were expected to be formally declared later on Saturday.

Some CA secretariat officials told Xinhua reporter that 578 CA members have cast their votes while one of them did not vote for any president candidate.

The CA meeting to be held on Saturday evening will declare the formal results and will fix a new date for presidential elections.

Since no single candidate secured a simple majority (298 votes out of 594 CA member voters), two top candidates securing the largest number of votes, Ram Baran Yadav and Ram Raja Prasad Singh, will contest again in the elections for the second round. The elections will be held in successive rounds until a single candidate for the two posts emerge with a simple majority.

Nepali CA members began voting in the presidential election at 11:36 a.m. (0551 GMT) on Saturday at the CA venue, International Conference Center (ICC) in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, to elect the first president and vice president of the youngest republic in the world.

Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic at the first CA meeting on May 28, ending the 240-year Shah dynasty.

Three candidates have been registered for the post of president and four for the vice president till the fixed time on Thursday.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), Nepali Congress (NC), the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) (CPN-UML) and Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum (MPRF) have filed the names of their candidates for the president and vice president.

The CPN-M, the single largest CA party with seats more than the total of the following NC and CPN-UML, proposed a Madhesi republican leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh for the presidential post and its CA lawmaker Shanta Shrestha for the vice presidential post.

The NC has registered its General Secretary Ram Baran Yadav as presidential candidate and veteran dalit leader Man Bahadur Bishwakarma as vice presidential candidate.

The CPN-UML has proposed the name of a former vice chairman of the upper house and a dalit leader Ramprit Paswan for president and its party leader Astalaxmi Shakya for vice president.

The MPRF registered the name of a former justice of supreme court Parmananda Jha for the vice presidential post.

Nepali presidential election voting ends

Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala (C) casts his ballot in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 19, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo)
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  KATHMANDU, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali presidential election voting ended Saturday afternoon at the Constituent Assembly (CA)venue, International Conference Center (ICC) in Kathmandu.

  The CA members started voting to elect the first president and vice president of the youngest republic in the world at Saturday noon.

Nepali CA members begin voting in presidential election 

Nepali Presidential candidates Ramraja Prasad Singh from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), Ramprit Paswan from the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) and Ram Baran Yadav from the Nepali Congress (NC) (L to R) wave to members of Nepals Constituent Assembly (CA) during a joint campaign in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 18, 2008. Nepali parties campaigned for presidential election that will be held on Saturday. (Xinhua Photo)
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  KATHMANDU, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Constituent Assembly (CA)members began voting in presidential election at 11:36 a.m. (0551 GMT) on Saturday at the CA venue International Conference Center (ICC) in Kathmandu, to elect the first president and vice president of the youngest republic in the world.

Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic at the first CA meeting on May 28, ending the 240-year Shah dynasty.