Nepal's communist chief back as PM for 4th time

Mr Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal's prime minister on July 15 after his Communist Party forged a coalition government with the centre-left Nepali Congress, shifting power in the country's often volatile Parliament.

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Mr Oli, 72, chief of the secondlargest party in Parliament - the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN (UML) returns as prime minister for the fourth time.

"I, KP Sharma Oli, in the name of the country and people, pledge that I will be loyal to the Constitution... and fulfil my duty as the Prime Minister," Mr Oli said, as President Ram Chandra Poudel administered the oath of office.

First elected as prime minister in 2015, he was re-elected in 2018 with a rare majority government, and then re-appointed briefly in 2021.

His predecessor and former coalition government ally, Mr Pushpa Kamal Dahal, lost a vote of confidence on July 12, barely 18 months after taking office.