Nepal ex-rebel PM to be sworn in

[XXPANTHAXX]

KATHMANDU (AFP) - - The leader of Nepal's Maoists is to be officially
sworn in as prime minister of the world's newest republic Monday,
officials said.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, was on Friday
overwhelmingly voted in as Nepal's premier by lawmakers in the country's
constitutional assembly.

"Prachanda will be sworn in later Monday, and we are very close to
forming the coalition government," said Ishwor Pokharel, a leader from
the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), a Maoist government ally.

The Maoists allied with two of Nepal's four biggest parties -- the UML
and the Madheshi Janaadhikar Forum -- to ensure they would get the votes
needed to have Prachanda named as the country's most powerful
politician.

The Maoists and their allies have yet to agree on the distribution of
ministerial portfolios, but have agreed on an ambitious "common minimum
programme," the UML leader said.

High on the new government's agenda will be swiftly tackling crippling
fuel and food shortages as well as "socio-economic transformation
through land reform."

In addition, the Maoist-led government will be in charge of drafting a
new constitution and establishing a ministerial body to address the fate
of 19,000 Maoist guerrillas confined to camps as part of the 2006 peace
deal.