Australia-based Shesh Ghale has been re-elected as the president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) as he saw off the challenge of Tek Bahadur Karki during the 7th general assembly of the association here on Thursday.

According to Shiva Rijal, the head of a five member election committee, Ghale secured 867 votes against 226 polled by Qatar-based NRNA chief Karki.

The NRNA election had become a two-horse race after Ratan Kumar Jha, the other presidential hopeful, withdrew his candidacy earlier on Thursday.

Ghale, who first went to Australia in 1990 as a student, was first elected as the NRNA president in 2013. An eminent business personality in Australia, Ghale has made investment in hospitality, education and real-estate sectors.  

Japan-based NRN Bhawan Bhatta and Germany-based Kumar Panta were elected vice presidents, getting ahead of Khagendra Chhetry from the UK, Narendra Bahadur Bhatt from Qatar and Shamser Singh Thapa from Australia.

Russia-based KC won the general secretary race, while Arjun Kumar Shrestha and Hikmat Bahadur Thapa were elected as the secretary and the treasurer respectively. A total of 59 candidates had contested for 22 positions.