Parliament in Nepal has elected a new prime minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, who faces a series of daunting challenges.
Mr Oli received 338 votes of the 597-member chamber, the Speaker announced.
Mr Oli told cheering supporters in parliament that he saw his appointment as "an honour and a challenge".
The
new leader will have to handle continuing protests over a new
constitution, the rebuilding of the country after April's devastating
earthquake and a fuel shortage.
Mr Oli, who was backed by a
coalition of royalists, Maoists and centrists, is the first prime
minister to be elected under the new constitution, defeating the
previous prime minister, Sushil Koirala.
Some analysts say the conservative Mr Oli will be less able than Mr
Koirala to reach out to the disaffected Madhesi community of southern
Nepal who oppose the new constitution.
BBC South Asia editor Charles Haviland
Forty-five
years ago, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was part of a short-lived, violent
Communist uprising. That is distant history. Today he is a polarising
figure within Nepal, which itself is deeply split on whether the new
constitution is democratic enough.
Despite the radical name of
his Unified Marxist-Leninist party, Mr Oli's detractors accuse him of
wanting to perpetuate the status quo of high-caste dominance.
They
say he has ignored the demands of the southern Madhesi and Tharu ethnic
groups, who claim that the new constitution leaves them marginalised
and under-represented.
But his supporters see virtue in his
bluntness and have greeted his victory as a snub to India, which they
accuse of unofficially blockading Nepal to try and force change to the
constitution that is backed by Mr Oli.
The Nepali Times quotes
him as saying on Saturday that he would "go all out" to address the
genuine demands of Madhesis, Tharus and Nepal's many other excluded
groups, as well as to "safeguard our nationality" and rebuild after the
earthquakes.
Modern Nepal has always had a rapid turnover of
prime ministers and it is difficult to predict how long or short the
latest incumbent's tenure may be.
Madhesis have staged weeks of demonstrations which have hampered the flow of fuel and other goods from India.
The fuel shortages have become so acute that traffic has been kept off the roads.
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Mr Oli has a full in-tray including earthquake
recovery, fuel shortages and disquiet over the new constitution
Some in Nepal blame Delhi for blockading fuel
supplies on the India-Nepal border because it supports Madhesi demands
for changes to the constitution.
But India argues that insecurity
caused by protests has meant that trucks carrying fuel and other
essential goods cannot enter Nepal.
The new constitution was promulgated two weeks ago, but sparked protests in the plains, resulting in more than 40 deaths. Thousands of people lost their lives and thousands more were injured in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that hit Nepal earlier this year.
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