Maoist Center chairman becomes new Nepali PM

KATHMANDU — Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center), was tapped to head a new coalition government on Sunday.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed Dahal, also known as Prachanda, as the new prime minister after he garnered the support of 169 lawmakers in the 275-strong House of Representatives.

"President Bidya Devi Bhandari has appointed Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a member of the House of Representatives, as the prime minister based on Article 76 (2) of the constitution of Nepal," the President's Office said in a statement.

The current ruling alliance led by the Nepali Congress party and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-UML, formed separate alliances for general elections on Nov 20, but no single party could win a majority of seats either in the lower house or the seven provincial assemblies.

The ruling alliance broke down as Nepali Congress party president and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba would not agree to Prachanda heading the new coalition for the first half of its five-year tenure. Prachanda then approached CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli and they reached an agreement, under which Oli will take over the premiership for the second half of the tenure, said Dev Gurung, general secretary of the CPN (Maoist Center).

Prachanda, who had served twice as prime minister, took the oath of office on Monday and will prove his majority in the 275-member house later in the week.

Seven parties have pledged their support for Prachanda, including the CPN-UML.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning congratulated Prachanda on the appointment during a daily briefing on Monday. She said that as a traditionally friendly neighbor, China is willing to work with the new government of Nepal to expand and deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

Before the elections, Prachanda told The Associated Press that his main goal was to give the country a stable government that would complete the full five-year term.

Nepal has been hampered by political instability, frequent changes in government and squabbles among parties. Inflation is more than 8 percent, the highest in six years.