KATHMANDU: Newly elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday said he would move ahead as PM by further consolidating relations with neighbouring countries India and China.

Talking to media-persons at New Baneshwor after being elected PM, he said "I as PM will take forward international relations by cooperating with both the neighbours."

Deuba also said he would cooperate with all during his stint as head of the government.

Parliament elects Deuba as 40th PM of Nepal

THT ONLINE

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba for the fourth time  has become  Prime Minister of Nepal on Tuesday with the pledge to advance economic development of the country.

The House meeting, which began after the main opposition CPN-UML decided to end obstructing the Parliament, elected Deuba 4oth Prime Minister with overall majority. 388 lawmakers from the NC and the  coalition partner CPN Maoist Centre including other fringe parties voted for him. Though there are currently existing 593 members out of 601 in the Legislature-Parliament, only 558 lawmakers took part in the election.

Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar has convened the House meeting a second time today itself to elect new Prime Minister.

Addressing the second session of the House,  Deuba laid out his government's three main priorities- holding three-tiers of elections by January 21, 2018; amending the constitution to address the demands of  the Madhes-centric parties and Madhesi people and attaining economic prosperity.

Following his address, the outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who had proposed Deuba as the new Prime Minister, also addressed the House before the election. The seconders for Deuba's candidacy NC senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel, Nepal Democratic Forum Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, Samajbadi Janata Party leader Prem Bahadur Singh, Akhanda Nepal Party leader Kumar Khadka and CPN-United leader Jayadev Joshi also made their case for Deuba.

With the expiry of timeline given by  President Bidya Devi Bhandari for forming consensual government without anything in concrete following the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on May 24, the process moved ahead to elect a new premier through majority.

On June 3, Deuba  had registered his candidacy- the sole candidate for the post of Prime Minister- at the Legislature-Parliament Secretariat. However, the UML did not file candidacy for the post.

Earlier, respecting the gentleman agreement reached between the NC and the Maoist Centre, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had resigned from the post through a live telecast of his address to the nation on May 24 in a bid to pave the way for the election of Sher Bahadur Deuba to new Prime Minister.

Deuba, who hails from Dadeldhura in far western Nepal, has been Prime Minister 3 times beforehand. For the first time, he became prime minister for the period 1995-97, followed by the time period 2001- 2002 and 2004-2005 for the second and third time respectively.