Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Prachanda the first prime minister of the Republic Nepal

On May 28, 2008, Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic at the first CA meeting. Prachanda was elected as the first prime minister of the Republic Nepal.
Here is his background "From His Childhood to Primeminister" Personal life and early career Born in Nepal's Kaski district,Prachanda spent much of his childhood in the Chitwan district. He received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSc-Ag) from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) in Rampur, Chitwan, and was once employed at a rural development project sponsored by USAID, the project site being Jajarkot. And he was also the teacher in high school in Aarught of Gorkha district. Moved by witnessing severe poverty among Nepalis, he has said, Prachanda was drawn to leftist political parties in his youth. In 1981 he joined the underground. He became general secretary (party leader) of the Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) in 1989. After a number of permutations, this party became the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). He lived underground even after the restoration of democracy in 1990. Until then a little-known figure, he controlled the clandestine wing of the party, while the parliamentary representation in the United People's Front was headed by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. Since 1996, Prachanda has become internationally known as the leader of CPN (M), presiding over its military and political wings. Maoist insurrection On February 4, 1996, Bhattarai gave the government, led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, a list of 40 demands, threatening civil war if they were not met. The demands related to "nationalism, democracy and livelihood" and included such line items as the "domination of foreign capital in Nepali industries, business and finance should be stopped", and "discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty, should be abrogated", and "land under the control of the feudal system should be confiscated and distributed to the landless and the homeless. Prachanda directed the military efforts of the CPN (M) towards establishing areas of control, particularly in the mountainous regions and western Nepal. Relations with Bhattarai In late 2004 or early 2005, relations between Prachanda and Bhattarai soured. This was reportedly due to disagreement on power sharing inside the party. Bhattarai was unhappy with the consolidation of power under Prachanda. At one point Prachanda expelled Bhattarai from the party (he was later reinstated). But in reality it was not like that the news which came in public media houses. They reconciled at least some of their differences. Twelve point agreement On November 22 2005 Prachanda and the Seven Party Alliance released a "twelve-point agreement" that expressed areas of agreement between the CPN (M) and the parties that won a large majority in the last parliamentary election in 1999. Among other points, this document stated that a dictatorial monarchy of King Gyanendra is the chief impediment to progress in Nepal. It claimed further that the Maoists are committed to human rights and press freedoms and a multi-party system of government. It pledged self-criticism and the intention of the Maoists and the Seven Parties to not repeat past mistakes. Ceasefires Several ceasefires have occurred over the course of the Nepalese civil war. Prachanda announced a ceasefire with a stated duration of 90 days. The move followed weeks of massive protests—the April 2006 Nepalese general strike& mdash; in Kathmandu and elsewhere that had forced Gyanendra of NepalKing Gyanendra to give up the personal dictatorship he had established on the February 1, 2005, and restore the parliament that was dissolved in May 2002. After that a new government was established by the Seven-Party Alliance. The parliament and the new government supported the ceasefire and started negotiations with the Maoists on the basis of the twelve-point agreement. The two sides agreed that a new constituent assembly will be elected to write a new constitution, and decide on the fate of monarchy. The Maoists want this process to end with Nepal becoming a republic. Interim government Prachanda met for talks with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on June 16 2006, in what was thought to be his first visit to the capital Kathmandu in more than a decade. This meeting resulted in an agreement to dissolve parliament, incorporate the CPN (M) into a new interim government, draft a new constitution, and disband the CPN (M)'s "people's governments" operating in rural Nepal. The two sides also agreed to disarm at a later date, under international supervision the CPN (M) pulled themselves out of the coalition government ahead of the [[Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, 2008Constituent Assembly election, demanding the declaration of a republic by parliament and a system of proportional representation in the election. The CPN (M) rejoined the government on December 30, 2007 after an agreement to abolish the monarchy following the election and to have a system of partial proportional representation in the election. Head of the government On January 25 2008, the CPN (M) said that it wanted Prachanda to become President of Nepal when a republic is established. In the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election, he was elected from Kathmandu constituency-10, winning by a large margin and receiving nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival, the candidate of the Nepali Congress. With the CPN (M) appearing to have won the election, Prachanda pledged that the party would work together with other parties in crafting the new constitution, and he assured the international community, particularly India and China, that the party wanted good relations and cooperation. He also said that the party had expressed its commitment to multi-party democracy through the election. Following power-sharing discussions that lasted several months, Prachanda was elected as Prime Minister by the Constituent Assembly on August 15, 2008. The CPN (UML), the Madeshi People's Rights Forum, and 18 other parties supported him. But the Nepali Congress supported Sher Bahadur Deuba. Prachanda received 464 votes, while Deuba received 113 votes.