Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KATHMANDU918
2008-08-15 13:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:
NEPAL: MAOIST CHAIRMAN PUSHPA DAHAL IS NEW PRIME
how-toVZCZCXRO1753 OO RUEHCI DE RUEHKT #0918/01 2281311 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 151311Z AUG 08 FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9050 INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 6617 RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 6923 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 2223 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 4964 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 6177 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2589 RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 0195 RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 4295 RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 3292
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000918
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOIST CHAIRMAN PUSHPA DAHAL IS NEW PRIME
MINISTER
REF: A. KATHMANDU 912
B. KATHMANDU 910
Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).
Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000918
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOIST CHAIRMAN PUSHPA DAHAL IS NEW PRIME
MINISTER
REF: A. KATHMANDU 912
B. KATHMANDU 910
Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).
Summary
--------------
1. (SBU) The Constituent Assembly has elected Maoist
chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to be the new Prime Minister of
Nepal by an overwhelming majority of 464 to 113. The major
parties, with the exception of the Nepali Congress, have
created an alliance but have yet to make firm decisions
regarding the distribution of cabinet portfolios.
CA Elects Dahal Prime Minister
--------------
2. (SBU) In the early evening of August 15, the Constituent
Assembly (CA) elected Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the
Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist, to be the new Prime
Minister of Nepal. Dahal defeated the only other candidate,
Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress (NC) party. Deuba,
whose nomination was voted on first, received 113 votes in
favor and 438 votes against. The Communist Party of Nepal -
United Marxist Leninist (UML) and the Madhesi People's Rights
Forum (MPRF) allied with the Maoists in a seven-point
agreement to ensure Dahal's victory. Almost all of the
smaller parties also voted in favor of Dahal. Dahal received
464 votes in favor to 113 against. CA Chairman Subash
Nemwang is expected to inform President Yadav of the results
later in the evening of August 15. Dahal is expected to take
the oath of office on August 17.
Negotiations Underway for National Unity Government
-------------- --------------
3. (C) The Maoists, UML and MPRF have begun negotiations for
cabinet ministers. Upendra Yadav, chairman of the MPRF, told
Emboff on the morning of August 15 that the parties have yet
to decide how the portfolios should be distributed.
Nevertheless, local media have reported that the parties have
agreed to allocate nine ministries to the Maoists, five or
six to the UML, four to the MPRF, and the remainder to
smaller parties, for a total of 23 or 24 cabinet seats.
There is speculation that the UML will get the Home and
Foreign Ministries, the MPRF will get the Ministry of
Information and Communications, and the Maoists will keep for
themselves the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Defense,
the latter of which had been a sticking point between the
Maoists and the NC during negotiations to form a consensus
government (Ref B). The NC is unlikely to join the
government.
Bio: Pushpa Kamal Dahal
--------------
4. (SBU) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, born into a Brahmin but poor
family in Kaski district in western Nepal on December 11,
1954, grew up in the Terai district of Chitwan. Dahal became
attracted to communism while a teenager; he has publicly said
that having to struggle while neighbors had luxuries
influenced his political ideology. After completing a B.Sc.
in agriculture from Rampur Agriculture College, he taught
school in Gorkha district in midwestern Nepal for two and a
half years in the late 1970s -- during which time he took the
opportunity to organize teachers, farmers, and women for the
communist cause. Dahal rose through factions of the
Communist Party of Nepal before creating an armed offshoot of
Maoists. He went underground after launching the "People's
War" in 1996 and rarely appeared in public until the current
peace process began in 2006. Dahal won both constituencies
he contested in KATHMANDU and Rolpa in the Constituent
Assembly election on April 10, 2008. He continues to use his
nom de guerre, Prachanda (usually translated as "Fearsome" or
"Awesome"),because his surname identifies him as a Brahmin.
Dahal has been married to his wife, Sita, for almost 40 years
KATHMANDU 00000918 002 OF 002
and has a son and three daughters. He speaks good English.
Comment
--------------
5. (C) Dahal's election as prime minister formalizes what
has been presumed since the Maoists emerged as the leading
party in the CA. Post expects continued haggling over
cabinet portfolios in the coming days. The NC appears to be
settling for the opposition, but has yet to firmly close the
door to joining the government. G.P. Koirala is to depart
the Prime Minister's residence on August 16 and move into the
home of his nephew, Dr. Shashank Koirala.
POWELL
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOIST CHAIRMAN PUSHPA DAHAL IS NEW PRIME
MINISTER
REF: A. KATHMANDU 912
B. KATHMANDU 910
Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).
Summary
--------------
1. (SBU) The Constituent Assembly has elected Maoist
chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to be the new Prime Minister of
Nepal by an overwhelming majority of 464 to 113. The major
parties, with the exception of the Nepali Congress, have
created an alliance but have yet to make firm decisions
regarding the distribution of cabinet portfolios.
CA Elects Dahal Prime Minister
--------------
2. (SBU) In the early evening of August 15, the Constituent
Assembly (CA) elected Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the
Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist, to be the new Prime
Minister of Nepal. Dahal defeated the only other candidate,
Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress (NC) party. Deuba,
whose nomination was voted on first, received 113 votes in
favor and 438 votes against. The Communist Party of Nepal -
United Marxist Leninist (UML) and the Madhesi People's Rights
Forum (MPRF) allied with the Maoists in a seven-point
agreement to ensure Dahal's victory. Almost all of the
smaller parties also voted in favor of Dahal. Dahal received
464 votes in favor to 113 against. CA Chairman Subash
Nemwang is expected to inform President Yadav of the results
later in the evening of August 15. Dahal is expected to take
the oath of office on August 17.
Negotiations Underway for National Unity Government
-------------- --------------
3. (C) The Maoists, UML and MPRF have begun negotiations for
cabinet ministers. Upendra Yadav, chairman of the MPRF, told
Emboff on the morning of August 15 that the parties have yet
to decide how the portfolios should be distributed.
Nevertheless, local media have reported that the parties have
agreed to allocate nine ministries to the Maoists, five or
six to the UML, four to the MPRF, and the remainder to
smaller parties, for a total of 23 or 24 cabinet seats.
There is speculation that the UML will get the Home and
Foreign Ministries, the MPRF will get the Ministry of
Information and Communications, and the Maoists will keep for
themselves the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Defense,
the latter of which had been a sticking point between the
Maoists and the NC during negotiations to form a consensus
government (Ref B). The NC is unlikely to join the
government.
Bio: Pushpa Kamal Dahal
--------------
4. (SBU) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, born into a Brahmin but poor
family in Kaski district in western Nepal on December 11,
1954, grew up in the Terai district of Chitwan. Dahal became
attracted to communism while a teenager; he has publicly said
that having to struggle while neighbors had luxuries
influenced his political ideology. After completing a B.Sc.
in agriculture from Rampur Agriculture College, he taught
school in Gorkha district in midwestern Nepal for two and a
half years in the late 1970s -- during which time he took the
opportunity to organize teachers, farmers, and women for the
communist cause. Dahal rose through factions of the
Communist Party of Nepal before creating an armed offshoot of
Maoists. He went underground after launching the "People's
War" in 1996 and rarely appeared in public until the current
peace process began in 2006. Dahal won both constituencies
he contested in KATHMANDU and Rolpa in the Constituent
Assembly election on April 10, 2008. He continues to use his
nom de guerre, Prachanda (usually translated as "Fearsome" or
"Awesome"),because his surname identifies him as a Brahmin.
Dahal has been married to his wife, Sita, for almost 40 years
KATHMANDU 00000918 002 OF 002
and has a son and three daughters. He speaks good English.
Comment
--------------
5. (C) Dahal's election as prime minister formalizes what
has been presumed since the Maoists emerged as the leading
party in the CA. Post expects continued haggling over
cabinet portfolios in the coming days. The NC appears to be
settling for the opposition, but has yet to firmly close the
door to joining the government. G.P. Koirala is to depart
the Prime Minister's residence on August 16 and move into the
home of his nephew, Dr. Shashank Koirala.
POWELL