Nepal's ruling party merges into super bloc with Maoists

KATHMANDU, Feb 20 (AFP): Nepal's ruling party has merged with a former Maoist rebel group to form a super bloc that experts say will reshape politics after years of turbulence in the Himalayan nation.

Officials said Tuesday the new alliance, the Nepal Communist Party, was formally signed into agreement following late-night negotiations between the two sides Monday.

They forged a political alliance to trounce the incumbent party in last year's landmark general elections, but this formal merger creates a political behemoth unprecedented in Nepali politics.

"This is an agreement to merge, but there are other issues we need to conclude before we completely unify," senior Maoist leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha told AFP, adding the transition process was expected to take at least a month.

The new alliance commands a large majority in both houses of parliament, and comes just days after Communist leader K.P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as prime minister.

Oli's main Communist party and the Maoists heavily defeated the incumbent Nepali Congress party in polls last year billed as the final step in a post-war transformation to a federal republic.