Kathmandu, April 4 -- Rastriya Swatantra Party vice-chair Dol Prasad (DP) Aryal has been elected Speaker of the House of Representatives unopposed, as other parties did not contest the state's fifth-highest position.

A formal announcement of the election will be made on Sunday, before Aryal is administered the oath of office and secrecy by the President the same day.

An aspirant for the home ministry, Aryal was chosen for the Speaker role after Sudan Gurung got the ministerial portfolio. Even as the CPN-UML was preparing to field a candidate against him, the party eventually refrained from doing so. As a result, Aryal, 51, was elected Speaker unopposed.

Aryal entered parliamentary politics through the proportional representation system...