Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kathmandu (Agenzia Fides) – After six months of stalemate, the political parties of Nepal have come to an agreement to elect the new Prime Minister. He will be Jhalanath Khanal, head of the Communist-Leninist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML). Khanal, 61, is the 34th Prime Minister and takes over from Madhav Kumar, who resigned last June after pressure from the Maoists. Khanal was elected with the support of Communist and Maoist parties, receiving 369 votes from 598 in Parliament.
Author of the “Roadmap for Democratic Nepal”, Khanal is an intellectual and writer who “we hope can bring strength to Nepal along the road of democracy and rights,” commented local sources of Fides.
Christians in Nepal have welcomed the appointment, as it puts an end to a long period of political uncertainty in a vacuum of power. So it is also hoped that the issues surrounding Christian minorities - such as the lack of burial grounds (see Fides 1/2/2011) - may be reviewed and solutions found.
As reported to Fides, the Catholic Church in particular in Nepal hopes that, with the new institutional arrangements, political forces can concentrate on finishing the new Constitution (the date scheduled for this to be final is the end of May 2011). The fundamental requests submitted to Parliament by the Catholic Church, in view of the drafting of the constitutional text, are the right to full religious freedom and the recognition of legal status. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 4/2/2010)
