http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/maoist-leader-poised-for-power/2008/08/15/1218307228040.html
Maoist leader poised for power August 16, 2008 KATHMANDU: After 25 years underground and a decade of armed struggle across Nepal's jungles and hills, the Maoist leader Prachanda appeared poised yesterday to become the country's next prime minister. Months of political limbo were set to end as MPs prepared to vote to elect the premier of the world's newest republic. The former rebel Maoists won the largest number of seats but fell short of a majority in landmark polls for the body that abolished the monarchy in May. Wrangling with mainstream parties meant they were unable to form a government and so the decision was to be put to a vote of the 595 MPs yesterday. "Months of political deadlock have finally come to an end," Prachanda told reporters after filing his candidacy papers to stand in the ballot. The first task of the Maoist-dominated body elected in April was to abolish the monarchy, and after the election of the prime minister it is to rewrite the country's constitution. The Maoists had allied with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), the third largest in the assembly, to ensure the success of Prachanda - a teacher turned revolutionary. Born into a high-caste but poor farming family, Prachanda - whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal - was driven to politics by the poverty he witnessed in rural Nepal. He led the Maoists in a decade-long battle before signing a peace deal with mainstream political parties in 2006, after Nepal's former king Gyanendra ended authoritarian direct rule in the face of massive protests. The ending of the 240-year-old monarchy was a major victory for the republican Maoists but their transition into mainstream politics has not been smooth. Agence France-Presse
