Madhav Kumar Nepal, Communist Leader, Elected Nepal's New PM

Source: Huffington Post

Madhav Kumar Nepal, Communist Leader, Elected Nepal's New PM

BINAJ GURUBACHARYA | May 23, 2009 09:35 AM EST

KATMANDU, Nepal — Lawmakers elected a communist party leader as Nepal's new prime minister on Saturday in a move aimed at ending weeks of political turmoil.

Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) was elected unopposed, parliament speaker Subash Nemwang announced.

Parliament members congratulated Nepal, and his supporters cheered and offered him flowers when he walked out of parliament.

Nepal, 56, has the backing of 22 political parties and 350 members in the 601-seat parliament, more than the simple majority required to be elected.

Nepal has been a prominent figure in Nepalese politics for more than a decade. He was a key figure in 2005 protests against the authoritarian rule of then-King Gyanendra and the weeks of street protests that led to the restoration of democracy a year later.

The previous prime minister, former Maoist rebel chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, resigned May 4 following a dispute with Nepal's president.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/23/madhav-kumar-nepal-commun_n_207072.html

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For a brief account of the differences between Maoism and Marxist, please read Henry Maitles essay:

Maoism and Marxism

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=8837

Former-Communist leader elected Nepalese PM

Nepal, 56, is a former general secretary of the Communist Party, but had resigned after the party made a poor showing last year against another Communist movement.

In that vote, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) became the largest party, with 38 percent of the seats in the 601-member constituent assembly which also functions as parliament.

Nepal had been general secretary since 1993 and served as the country's deputy prime minister for nine months in 1995.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist chairman, resigned as prime minister May 4 after the president overturned the Cabinet's decision to sack the army chief.

Nepal became a republic last year.

The new government has two important tasks before it: the writing of a new constitution within a year, and integration of 19,600 Maoist combatants into the security forces.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/23/nepal.prime.minister/index.html

can get the electrity in Kathmandu working again...

It's going to be very confusing, with phrases like "Nepal has been a prominent figure in Nepalese politics for more than a decade".