Ex-Maoist rebel leader sworn-in as Nepal premier for 3rd time

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The reunion of the divided Communist Party in Nepal has brought back the rule of leftists in the Himalayan nation after the Nepal Communist Party's (MC) Pushpa Kamal Dahal was appointed the prime minister.

Dahal was sworn in as the chief executive on Monday evening at Sheetal Niwas, the presidential complex, in the capital Kathmandu, The Himalayan Times reported.

It was after Dahal laid his claim to form a coalition government on Sunday evening before the country’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari after his party exited a pre-election alliance with Nepali Congress.

Nepal held its general elections on Nov. 20 for new faces in the 275-member parliament. A party or alliance has to get a minimum of 138 seats to form the government in the landlocked Himalayan nation.

The Dahal-led coalition seems to command the support of at least 170 lawmakers in the lower house of the bi-cameral parliament.

The role of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli -- who is leading the Nepal Communist Party UML -- in uniting the divided party is seen as monumental.

The two sides brokered a power-sharing deal on Saturday with Dahal returning to the prime minister post for the third time.

A former rebel commander, Dahal will head the new government for the first half of the five-year term with support from the UML and some half a dozen parties.

Dahal is also known as "Prachanda," meaning “terrible” or “fierce."

He should be able to prove his majority in the 275-seated house within 30 days after being inaugurated as the chief executive.

According to the Election Commission, approximately 18 million people were eligible to vote in the country, which has had 10 different governments since the abolition of a 239-year-old monarchy in 2008.

A total of 10.05 million people voted in the general election last month, accounting for 61% of all registered voters.