Nepal's parliament Sunday elected communist leader KP Sharma Oli as the new prime minister, tasked with unifying the quake-hit country after a new constitution triggered deadly protests, a border blockade and a nation-wide fuel shortage.
Oli, of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), defeated by 338 votes to 249 former premier Sushil Koirala, who had stepped down from the top job as required by the constitution adopted on September 20.
"Today I have been elected as the prime minister. I take this as an opportunity, an honour and a challenge," Oli told reporters as he left parliament, where his victory was greeted by cheers from lawmakers.
Oli is tasked with quelling protests over the new constitution and ending the blockade which has led to national fuel rationing, as well as pushing ahead with reconstruction after the earthquake in April killed thousands.
He is known as a moderate conservative within his party despite its communist leanings, and vowed Sunday to work with other parties to develop the impoverished country.
"My request is that all the parties must work together and move forward in consensus," Oli told lawmakers in an address before the vote. "There are groups that are dissatisfied with the constitution. We have to address their demands," said Oli.
"Our country has been devastated by the earthquake. I will accelerate the reconstruction process," the 63-year-old also said.
The current government is accused of stalling on rebuilding after the quake killed nearly 8,900 people and left more than half a million homeless.
The constitution is aimed at bolstering the Himalayan country's transformation to a peaceful democracy after decades of political instability and a civil war. After years of bickering about the document, the quake spurred the main political parties into agreement on it.
But the constitution, the first to be drawn up by elected representatives, triggered a blockade by protesters at a vital border checkpoint, cutting off fuel supplies from sole provider India and sparking a nation-wide shortage. Protesters from Nepal's southern plains are incensed about the planned division of the country into several federal provinces.
Oli will also have to mend ties with giant influential neighbour India, which is worried about instability on the border and has expressed concerns over the constitution.
Oli has accused India of being behind the blockade that started on September 24 to protest against the charter. As trucks remain stuck at the frontier, Nepal has been forced to ration supplies nation-wide as long lines form at petrol stations.
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