(VOVworld) – On Wednesday, Nepal's parliament elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Vice Chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), as the country's first female president.

Vice-Chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) Bidhya Devi Bhandari waves after voting at the Parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal, Oct. 28, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

Bhandari secured 327 of 541 votes. She was backed by Nepal’s third largest party, UCPN-Maoist, and several fringe parties. The election followed Nepal’s adoption of a new constitution on Sept. 20. Bhandari, 54, is Nepal’s second president since it became a federal democratic republic in 2008, ending a 240-year monarchy.

Bhandari replaced Ram Baran Yadav who, on July 23, 2008 was appointed Nepal’s first head of state.