Nepal lawmakers on Wednesday elected Communist Party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, the country’s new prime minister. Parliament spokesperson Bharat Raj Gautam on Tuesday said no competitors came forward to challenge Prachanda's candidacy as nominations closed.
Nepal’s last premier KP Oli resigned on July 25, after accusing Congress and Maoist leaders of conspiring against his government. President Bidya Devi Bhandari last week called on all the country’s political parties to quickly elect a new prime minister to end political instability in Nepal.
Oli made his decision to resign ahead of a no-confidence motion move by Opposition parties including the Nepali Congress, the Maoist Communist party (CPN-MC) and the CPN-United. The 64-year-old Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) leader said he was being punished for the good work he has done by strengthening the country's relations with India and China. Oli became the prime minister in October 2015.
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