Nepal assembly elects Prachanda as Prime Minister
Maoist chief Prachanda was on Friday elected as the first Prime Minister in post-monarchy Nepal as he swept a Constituent Assembly vote trouncing his Nepali Congress rival, four months after leading the former rebels to a surprise victory in the p...
By PTI |
KATHMANDU: Maoist chief Prachanda was on Friday elected as the first Prime Minister in post-monarchy Nepal as he swept a Constituent Assembly vote trouncing his Nepali Congress rival, four months after leading the former rebels to a surprise victory in the polls.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, 53, chairman of CPN-Maoist that launched a decade-long armed struggle against monarchy, grabbed 464 votes out of the 577 cast in the 601-strong Constituent Assembly, after he received the backing of another major Left party the CPN(UML) and the Terai-based Madhesi Rights People's Forum.
Nepali Congress' candidate and former premier Sher Bahadur Deuba failed to muster a simple majority, winning just 113 votes in an election that saw the major party which had dominated the country's polity being isolated.
The elections ended a four-month long logjam over government formation which saw the mainstream parties locked in a bitter power struggle.
Prachanda's predecessor G P Koirala of Nepali Congress had already resigned under pressure from Maoists and was working in an interim capacity.
With Prachanda at helm, the Maoists are expected to get nine portfolios including the key ministries of Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs, highly placed sources said.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, 53, chairman of CPN-Maoist that launched a decade-long armed struggle against monarchy, grabbed 464 votes out of the 577 cast in the 601-strong Constituent Assembly, after he received the backing of another major Left party the CPN(UML) and the Terai-based Madhesi Rights People's Forum.
Nepali Congress' candidate and former premier Sher Bahadur Deuba failed to muster a simple majority, winning just 113 votes in an election that saw the major party which had dominated the country's polity being isolated.
The elections ended a four-month long logjam over government formation which saw the mainstream parties locked in a bitter power struggle.
Prachanda's predecessor G P Koirala of Nepali Congress had already resigned under pressure from Maoists and was working in an interim capacity.
With Prachanda at helm, the Maoists are expected to get nine portfolios including the key ministries of Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs, highly placed sources said.
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