Maoists win race for prime minister

The recently formed Constituent Assembly of Nepal has made history with the election of Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as the country’s prime minister. Nepali Congress was the only party to field a candidate against the Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist. CPN-M’s Prachanda won the prime minister slot in a landslide victory of 464 votes to the NC’s 113.

The CPN-M had placed first in the popular election to the Constituent Assembly, winning 37 percent of the seats. The party was able to secure victory for its candidate for prime minister by forming an alliance with the third-largest party in the assembly, the United Marxist-Leninists. These two large communist parties control an outright majority in the CA with a solid 54 percent of the seats between them.

The CPN-M and UML are likely to divide the cabinet positions along with the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum. The MJF is the fourth-largest party in the CA and backed the Maoists in their bid to form the government along with the UML. Sixteen smaller parties in the assembly also supported the Maoists in a bloc.

The support of the UML and MJF meant they broke an alliance with the bourgeois Nepali Congress Party. That alliance, during voting in late July, was responsible for the Maoist-backed candidates losing their bid for the symbolic posts of president and vice-president as well as assembly chairperson.

The leading parties are now in serious negotiations regarding the division of cabinet positions. As of mid-August preliminary agreements have proposed a 24-member cabinet in which the Maoists are expected to take nine portfolios, with senior Maoist leaders heavily favored for two key portfolios—finance and defense. The UML will take six portfolios and MJF will have four. Several smaller communist parties are also expected to gain a few portfolios once the full cabinet is formed.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has sent congratulatory messages to Prachanda on his victory in the race for prime minister. The DPRK has promised to strengthen cooperative relations with Nepal as a result of this victory.

Despite the victory the CPN-M faces a long struggle needed to advance the revolutionary process in Nepal and provide justice to the country’s oppressed masses. The new governing alliance has agreed to implement a Common Minimum Program to address many of the critical issues facing Nepal.

While the details of the program have not been fully concluded, it is widely expected that land reform will be high on the agenda. Land reform will be one of the portfolios in the 24-member cabinet, and has been high on the Maoists’ agenda since they first launched the People’s War in 1996, which eventually led to victory in the elections.

Prime Minister Prachanda has said that the government will soon launch a number of immediate relief programs to alleviate many of the hardships endured by the average Nepali. In addition to the relief and land reform programs, the new government is charged with the task of writing a new constitution over the course of two years.

The road ahead for the revolutionary process in Nepal is fraught with difficulty and danger. The Nepali Congress Party is openly working against the formation of a people’s government and the implementation of fundamental reform. The deposed monarch, King Gyanendra, waits in the shadows for any potential opening to return to power.

The CPN-M has decided to rely on the People’s Liberation Army to provide security for Prachanda instead of the Nepali Army or the Armed Police Force. This is a testament to the very real danger that Prachanda and the Maoists face in the early days of the revolution. The bourgeois parties, the old monarchy, India’s capitalists and U.S. imperialism still pose a substantial threat to Nepal’s revolution.

Despite this threat the Maoists and their allies in government have decided to forge ahead with their goal of peace and justice through socioeconomic transformation.