Pradeep Kumar Bhandari has been named the Speaker of Province 1. He got elected unopposed after no other contender filed their candidacy for the post on Sunday.

The official announcement of Bhandari’s appointment will be made during a Provincial Assembly meeting called on Monday. Secretary at the Province Secretariat Dhruba Ghimire said that only one name was registered for the Speaker post of the province.

The CPN-UML Parliamentary Party meeting held on Sunday morning had unanimously endorsed Bhandari’s name for the Speaker post. UML area in-charge Bhim Acharya said that party picked Bhandari although there were other aspirants for the post.

Bhandari, 63, of Dharan-13, is a teacher by profession. He was elected provincial assembly member from Sunsari, Constituency 1'A'.