Madhav new Nepali PM
Nepal's parliament yesterday chose veteran communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as the nation's new prime minister following the collapse of the Maoist-led government earlier this month.
Madhav Kumar Nepal, 56, senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), one of the Himalayan country's oldest parties, was acclaimed for the post as he was the lone candidate.
"He has been elected unopposed as the new prime minister of the federal democratic republic of Nepal," parliamentary speaker Subash Nemwang said.
Nepal was named the prime ministerial candidate by an alliance of 22 parties last week.
His election came after Maoist leader Prachanda quit as prime minister three weeks ago following eight months in office to protest a decision by the president to veto his bid to sack Nepal's army chief, a longtime rival.
The latest political crisis in impoverished Nepal has raised fears about the future of a 2006 peace agreement which ended a decade-long Maoist insurgency that left at least 13,000 dead.
The Maoists stormed out of parliament on Saturday before the new prime minister was chosen, branding the selection process "a farce."
But they promised not to disrupt the peace process, saying they were committed to civilian government.
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