Nepal ex-rebel PM to be sworn in

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

KATHMANDU (AFP) — The leader of Nepal's Maoists is to be officially sworn in as prime minister of the world's newest republic Monday, officials said.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, was on Friday overwhelmingly voted in as Nepal's premier by lawmakers in the country's constitutional assembly.

"Prachanda will be sworn in later Monday, and we are very close to forming the coalition government," said Ishwor Pokharel, a leader from the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), a Maoist government ally.

The Maoists allied with two of Nepal's four biggest parties -- the UML and the Madheshi Janaadhikar Forum -- to ensure they would get the votes needed to have Prachanda named as the country's most powerful politician.

The Maoists and their allies have...