Kathmandu: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was elected to Nepal's Constituent Assembly through proportionate representation, while Maoists grabbed nearly a third of the seats awarded under the system.

All 25 political parties, which secured seats under the proportionate voting system, submitted the list of their representatives to the Election Commission, officials said here today.

A total of 335 representatives entered the Assembly under the proportionate representation system while 240 were elected directly and 26 will be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Under the PR system, the votes received by political parties during the historic April 10 elections determined the number of seats they get. During the polling, each voters was given two ballots -- one to chose a candidate and the other to select a party.

Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist topped the list with 100 seats, followed by Nepali Congress with 73 seats and CPN-UML with 70 seats. Among major parties of southern Terai region, Madhesi People's Rights Forum grabbed 22 seats, Terai Madhes Democratic Party 11 and Sadbhavana Party four.

The Maoists also emerged as the single largest party under the direct voting system with with 220 seats.

Koirala, also the President of Nepali Congress, is among those elected to the 601-member Assembly through the PR system, officials said. The special assembly will rewrite the Constitution and decide the future of the country's centuries-old monarchy.
Source : PTI