Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KATHMANDU437
2009-05-26 08:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

NEPAL: NEW PRIME MINISTER SWORN IN

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM NP 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000437 

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y -- ADJUSTED PARAGRAPH NUMBERING

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: NEW PRIME MINISTER SWORN IN

REF: KATHMANDU 435

KATHMANDU 00000437 001.2 OF 002


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 000437

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y -- ADJUSTED PARAGRAPH NUMBERING

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: NEW PRIME MINISTER SWORN IN

REF: KATHMANDU 435

KATHMANDU 00000437 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador Nancy J. Powell. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) On May 23, the Constituent Assembly elected veteran
Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (UML)
leader Madhav Kumar Nepal unopposed as the country's new
Prime Minister. MK Nepal and two additional UML ministers
were sworn in May 25 as negotiations continued to fill the
rest of the cabinet -- expected within two weeks. Nepal is a
long-standing contact of the Embassy and has been accessible
and responsive to USG concerns in the past. Maoist protests
may resume soon.

MK Nepal Elected PM
--------------


2. (U) On May 23, veteran Communist Party of Nepal - United
Marxist Leninist (UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal was the sole
nominee for the position of Prime Minister and the 601-member
Constituent Assembly (CA) elected him without any recorded
opposition. However, none of the 238 Maoist Members of
Parliament participated in the balloting. The 360 votes for
Nepal left him with a comfortable majority; he required 301
votes for election as PM. President Ram Baran Yadav swore in
MK Nepal as PM on May 25. CA members, including two senior
Maoist leaders (but not former Prime Minister Dahal),
attended along with the Chief Justice, government officials
and the diplomatic corps.

Cabinet Begins to Take Shape
--------------


3. (C) Following his swearing-in, PM Nepal swore-in two UML
leaders as ministers - UML Vice President Bidhya Bhandari as
Defense Minister and UML deputy parliamentary leader Surendra
Pandey as Finance Minister. MK Nepal would have reportedly
preferred to swear in a small cabinet with members from all
three main coalition partners (UML, Nepali Congress (NC),and
Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF)),but neither NC nor
MPRF were ready to submit names until negotiations over
portfolio distribution and the common minimum program were
completed. While Bhandari and Pandey are expected to stay in
the cabinet, their portfolios may change when additional
parties join. It could take two weeks or longer before a
full cabinet is in place.

Future of Maoist Protests Unclear
--------------


4. (C) In remarks to the CA on May 23, the Maoists' deputy
parliamentary leader Narayan Kazi Shrestha announced their
boycott saying that they could not participate in the new
government which was being formed "under the design of
foreign imperialist forces and reactionaries" and condemning
any government formed without previously reversing the
President's "unconstitutional" decision to reinstate Army
chief General Katawal. He claimed, however, that the Maoists
would not boycott parliamentary sessions. Other senior
Maoist leaders have indicated, however, that they intend to
continue periodic street demonstrations and have announced
they do not intend to participate in a high-level inter-party
coordinating committee proposed by NC President GP Koirala,
at least not until President Yadav reverses his decision on
Katawal. The next scheduled session of the Parliament will
be on May 27.

Comment
--------------


5. (C) While representatives from 22 parties supported MK
Nepal's election, not all will join the cabinet. Even so,
intra- and inter-party tensions will make it difficult for
the new PM to forge and maintain coalition unity. In his

KATHMANDU 00000437 002.2 OF 002


first address to the nation, ongoing at close of business, PM
Nepal is expected to stress the need to move forward with the
peace process and constitution drafting, and appeal to the
Maoists to play a constructive role. Although Maoists
boycotted MK Nepal's election as PM, that they did not
boycott his swearing-in is a positive sign. With MK Nepal's
elevation to PM, he is expected to give up his chairmanship
of the Constitutional Committee. The Maoists have reportedly
already expressed an interest in the position. MK Nepal is a
long-standing Embassy contact, who has been accessible and
responsive to USG concerns in the past. He has fifteen years
of experience as head of one of Nepal's leading parties and
had a short stint as Deputy Prime Minister in 1994-95 with
responsibility for Foreign Affairs and Defense. In spite of
losing both seats he contested in the CA election in 2008,
his presence in the Assembly was considered so indispensable
that the Maoists assisted the UML in having him appointed to
the CA in early 2009 and supported his election to head the
principal constitution-drafting committee. The U.S. should
be able to work closely with him as PM, but whether he will
be able to keep his own government in line and in power
through the drafting of a new constitution and the completion
of the peace process is an open question.
POWELL