Kathmandu, April 5 (NationPress) Dol Prasad Aryal, the vice-president of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has been officially elected as the Speaker of Nepal's House of Representatives after being the only candidate for the role.

During a session of the lower house on Sunday, the most senior member, Arjun Narsingh KC, publicly confirmed Aryal's unopposed election. This marks Aryal as the 10th Speaker of the lower house and the first individual not affiliated with a communist party to attain this position in almost 20 years.

With the RSP holding a significant near two-thirds majority in the 275-member House of Representatives, Aryal's ascension to the role was largely anticipated.

In the recent elections conducted on March 5, the RSP emerged as the dominant party in the lower house, capturing 182 seats after a decisive victory amid growing public dissatisfaction with conventional political factions.

Aryal secured his seat in the lower house representing the Kathmandu-9 constituency, where he bested his nearest contender, Nepali Congress candidate Nanumaya Bastola, by a substantial margin.

Hailing from Maidi (now Jwalamukhi Rural Municipality) in the Dhading district, adjacent to Kathmandu, the 51-year-old politician has a story of rising from modest origins.

After relocating to Kathmandu in the early 1990s seeking job opportunities, Aryal began his career as a laborer, working in various restaurants before moving to Japan in 1996 for overseas employment.

He spent nearly eight years in Japan, and upon returning to Nepal, he became involved in various business sectors, including tourism, education, cooperatives, and remittance services.

Aryal has been linked with enterprises such as Sumire Tours and Travels, Yokohama Japanese Language Academy, HEMS School, Jansagar Savings and Credit Cooperative, and EasyLink Remittance, often holding executive roles like director and CEO.

As a founding member and vice-chairperson of the RSP, Aryal has also stepped in as the party's acting chair, especially during a pivotal time when party president Rabi Lamichhane faced allegations regarding irregularities in cooperatives.

Aryal joined Parliament after his election in the 2022 general elections through the proportional representation system. He subsequently held the position of Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Security on two occasions, although both terms were short-lived due to the formation of multiple coalition governments under former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as no party had achieved a majority in the previous lower house.

Now that the Speaker has been elected, focus turns to the deputy Speaker role. According to constitutional requirements, either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker must be female, and the two roles should be held by members of distinct political parties.

The Nepali Congress has indicated its intention to claim this position as the principal opposition, while the newly formed Shram Sanskriti Party, led by former Dharan mayor Harka Rai, has also announced plans to nominate a female candidate.

Given the RSP's strong influence in Parliament, its backing is anticipated to play a critical role in determining the next deputy Speaker, a position that also holds significant sway within the Constitutional Council, responsible for making key appointments to constitutional bodies.