KATHMANDU, Nepal–Nepali Congress(NC) President and parliamentary party leader Sushil Koirala, was elected country’s new prime minister, Monday afternoon, thanks to the marathon attempts of intra party and inter party power sharing deal that paved the way to choose new premier following 19 November constituent assembly polls.
The 74-year-old Koirala, will assume his office as the country’s 37th prime minister—the fifth after the country became a republic—after swear in ceremony to be held this afternoon.
Out of 553 members present in the Parliament, 405 voted opting for Koirala while only 148 votes were cast against him.
Lawmakers from 17 parties voted in favour of Koirala while the UCPN-M which remained distant third after CA polls and Madhes based regional parties and some fringe parties stood against him during the voting.
Before the voting, Koirala begged lawmakers’ support, stating he was committed to write a new constitution within a year by taking ownership of the agreed upon agendas of the last CA which was dissolved in 2012.
Earlier on Sunday NC vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel proposed Koirala as candidate for prime minister and KP Oli, parliamentary party leader of the CPN-UML, the second largest party in the new assembly that also acts as parliament had endorsed the proposal.
Born in 1939 and joined Nepali Congress politics at the age of 15, Koirala went into exile for 16 years after the royal takeover of 1960.
Before elected as the President of NC in 2010, he was appointed General Secretary of NC in 1996 and acting President in 2008. Koirala is unmarried and regarded as “Mr Clean” in national politics.
Meanwhile, premier elected Sushil Koirala has called for unity to promulgate the constituent within stipulated time.