Nepal elects new president amid political uncertainty

Nepal’s parliament held elections for a new president on Thursday, as the Himalayan nation faces increasing political instability with a fragile coalition government that has been in power for only a few months.
The election of the president, a figurehead with not much political power, has triggered feuds among partners in the ruling alliance headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who took office in December.
Dahal is backing Ram Chandra Poudel of the opposition Nepali Congress party, a move that angered his main coalition partner, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), which wanted its own candidate to be president. The party has since pulled out of the coalition.
There was no clear explanation why Dahal took such a large risk backing the opposition candidate and breaking his alliance, but the struggle for power among the main political parties in Nepal is common.
The country sees frequent changes in government. Nepal has had eight different governments in the past 10 years.
The national election in November last year left a hung parliament, leading to a fragile coalition government taking power.