Sawt Falasteen - Nepal's ousted PM Oli re-elected as party leader

Members of the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) cast their ballots during a two-day general convention in the capital Kathmandu, which Oli won by a landslide.

The 73-year-old political veteran's success comes after he stepped down as prime minister during a September youth-led uprising that toppled his government.

Nepal will hold elections in March with a caretaker administration running the country in the meantime.

Oli bagged nearly three times more votes than his nearest competitor, Ishwar Pokhrel, securing 1,663 votes compared to Pokhrel's 564, Rajendra Gautam, the head of the party's publicity department, told AFP.

Oli, often known by his initials "KP", has carefully crafted an image as his party's supreme leader, with life-size cutouts and banners of "KP Ba (father), we love you" seen at some of his rallies.

"I am happy he won," Tara Maya Thapa Magar, 45, who came from Gandaki province in western Nepal to participate in the convention, told AFP.

"He is the need of the hour for the nation."

- 'Make the country prosperous' -

The four-time prime minister quit office shortly after angry protesters set fire to his house and hundreds of other buildings, including the parliament and courts, during the September protests.

Oli wrote in his resignation letter that he hoped him stepping down would help "towards a political solution and resolution of the problems".

At least 77 people were killed during the unrest that was triggered by anger over a brief government ban on social media, building on public frustration after years of economic stagnation and allegations of entrenched political corruption.

"The incident that occurred is due to international interference. It is only through Oli's leadership that we can overcome this setback and make the country prosperous," said Magar.

After Oli's ouster, 73-year-old former chief justice Sushila Karki was appointed interim prime minister to lead the Himalayan nation until the March 5 elections.

The government has imposed a travel ban on Oli, as well as several other former top officials, as a government commission investigates his role in the deadly crackdown on protesters.

Nepal's political future remains uncertain, with deep public distrust of established parties posing a major challenge to holding credible elections.

Karki has promised to create a "fair and fear-free" environment for the polls.

P.Tamimi--SF-PST