Kathmandu: The third president to be elected since the Himalayan nation ended the centuries-old monarchy and became a republic was elected by members of Nepal's parliament on Thursday.

Politics is now uncertain as a result of presidential election disputes between the major political parties.

A total of 884 members of the national parliament and provincial assemblies gathered in the country's capital, Kathmandu, to elect a new president. The final results were expected to be announced on Thursday night.

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Both the presidential contenders are well-known career politicians.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Ram Chandra Paudel is a prominent member of the Nepali Congress Party.

The Speaker was a position previously held by his rival, Subhash Chandra Nembang of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist).

A fragile coalition government came to power last November after a national election that resulted in a hung parliament.

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The largest party in the coalition withdrew its support after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal decided to back a candidate other than that of the coalition partners. As a result, Dahal was forced to seek a vote of confidence in parliament later this month.

The presidential election and the vote of confidence, according to analysts, could create more volatility. Even though we had a successful national election and a new coalition government, the phase of political instability in Nepal is not over, according to Dhruba Adhikari, an independent analyst in Kathmandu.

In addition to facing a vote of confidence, Dahal lost the support of three important political parties that were part of the first coalition government. Even before he had a chance to address the major problems facing the 30-million-person nation, his tenure got off to a rocky start.

Nepal is still working to recover from the economic hardships brought on by COVID-19, which has resulted in a drop in the number of foreign travelers visiting the country and scaling its mountain peaks. There is a need to strengthen Nepal's economy by reviving tourism.

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Dahal must also strike a balance in his dealings with Nepal's two huge neighbors India and China. Beijing and New Delhi compete with each other for sway over the tiny Himalayan nation.

Normally, the new Prime Minister of Nepal travels to one of these countries to start his term, but Dahal has not yet made any such plans public. Political unrest and frequent changes of government are nothing new in Nepal, which has been ruled by eight different governments in the past ten years.