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Nepal elected Premier unopposed

Kathmandu: Senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal on Saturday became the second Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal unopposed.

Announcing Mr. Nepal’s win, Constituent Assembly Chairman Subash Nembang said: “Since only one proposal was received for the Prime Minister’s post, I declare Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal as the unopposed Prime Minister.”

Mr. Nepal received 359 votes out of the 601-member Constituent Assembly. According to the interim Constitution, to form government, a party must have a simple majority. The UCPN (Maoists) boycotted the election announcing they would not support the government. The CPN (unified) and the Janata Dal also boycotted the House.

Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and senior congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed Mr. Nepal’s name while CPN-UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal and 21 other CA members supported it.

Talking briefly to journalists after being elected, Mr. Nepal said his government would continue its journey of consensus to fulfil its responsibilities. He is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday.

It was the second Premier election after the Constituent Assembly elections were held last year. The UCPN (Maoists) led a coalition government for nine months until Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” resigned on May 4, following a row over the tenure of Army chief General Rookmangud Katawal. Born to a middle class family in Gaur of Rautahat district, Mr. Nepal (56), who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in commerce from Tribhuvan University, has a gentleman image in the party. He worked as the party’s general secretary for 15 years. He resigned after his defeat in the Constituent Assembly elections last year. He was defeated by Maoists in both the Kathmandu and Rautahat constituencies. Until the Maoists came in the mainstream politics, the UML was the second largest party but the CA elections brought the Maoists to the first place and pushed the UML to the third.

This is the second time in Nepal’s history that the UML is leading government. In 1994, they led a minority government, in which Mr. Nepal was the Deputy Prime Minister also handling Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs. Mr. Nepal also made significant contribution in brining the former rebels, the Maoists, into mainstream politics. He played a vital role in signing the 12-point agreement between the then Seven-Party Alliance and the Maoists in 2005.

Mr. Nepal was also in news during the presidential election. At present, Mr. Nepal heads the Constitutional Committee which has the task of drafting constitution by 2010.

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