Amid crisis in ruling coalition, Nepal elects third president

Nepali Congress party's presidential candidate, Ram Chandra Paudel casts his vote to elect the President at the Parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Amid a bitter crisis in its ruling coalition, Nepal on Thursday elected a social democrat as its third president since the Himalayan nation ended a centuries-old monarchy.

The election of Ram Chandra Paudel, 78, comes after a split in the communist-dominated ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist rebel chief.