FILE- In this Nov. 2, 2016 file photo, Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari waits to receive Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bhandari, has been elected to a second term in voting by national and provincial lawmakers. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
Republished March 13, 2018 - 8:44 AM
Original Publication Date March 13, 2018 - 7:36 AM
KATHMANDU, Nepal - Nepal's president, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, was elected to a second term in voting Tuesday by national and provincial lawmakers.
The Election Commission said Bhandari received a large majority of the ballots.
Bhandari, who was first elected in 2015, is the Himalayan nation's first female president, a largely ceremonial role.
She has the backing of the Communist alliance government which dominated recent parliamentary and provincial assembly elections.
Bhandari has a long political career. Before becoming president she was a powerful leader of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018