Maoist elected Nepal prime minister

The Maoist leader known as Prachanda was overwhelmingly elected the first republican prime minister of Nepal Friday.

The election paves the way for the formation of a coalition government in one of the world’s poorest nations, ending four months of political uncertainty that saw King Gyanendra ousted in May and the country’s 240-year monarchy dissolved.

Prachanda, 53, whose moniker means “the fierce one,” won 464 votes in the parliament. His rival, the three-time former prime minister and leader of the Nepali Congress Party, Sher Bahadur Deuba, received 113 votes.

Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, for 10 years led the Maoist insurgency still listed by the United States as a terrorist organization before transforming himself from a fiery revolutionary into a charismatic political leader.

Baburam Bhattarai, who is the second in command of the Maoist hierarchy and slated to be the finance minister under the Maoist led-coalition government, addressed the Constituent Assembly after the election and declared that Maoist politicians including Prachanda will no longer hold any posts in the Maoist People’s Liberation Army and will return property seized by them during the war.

“Today is a day of pride, and it will be written with golden letters in the history of the nation,” Mr. Bhattarai said.

“Under the leadership of Prachanda, the main agenda of the new administration would be nationalism, republicanism, economic and social transformation, and for which we will publish a common minimum program very soon,” he said.

Mr. Bhattarai told The Washington Times in a phone interview that the coalition Cabinet is expected to be sworn in on Monday with the combination of nine Maoist ministers, six ministers from the Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and four ministers from the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum.

In April elections, the Maoists emerged as the largest party in the constituent assembly with 229 out of 601 members. But their lack of parliamentary majority prompted the four-month power struggle between the minority parties and the Maoists to form a new government.

U.S. officials said Washington would work with the new government, even though it has blacklisted the Maoists.

“We look forward to working with the new government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and building on the historic ties between our peoples,” the U.S. embassy in Katmandu said.

The European Union and Japan - both major donors to aid-dependent Nepal - welcomed the election of Maoist leader as the prime minister.

EU officials said in a statement, “The election of Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the prime minister ends a period of uncertainty and paves the way for government formation.”

The Japanese Embassy welcomed Prachanda’s election, saying, “At this important period, the government of Japan sincerely wishes that the peace process will continue through the concerted efforts of all the political parties.”