These are times of transition in politics — from the Arab world to the tiny Himalayan republic of Nepal. But political parties often fail to seize the historic moment thrown up by people power. Nepal’s transition from a constitutional monarchy to republicanism is not the stuff of partisan politics. If the transition involves a political tussle, it ought to be over what kind of a political system and government would suit the people’s interests best. Unfortunately, during the two years since the end of the monarchy, Nepal’s political parties busied themselves in a power struggle that almost betrayed the people’s democratic aspirations. They set a record of sorts by failing to elect a prime minister in 16 rounds of voting in parliament after the incumbent, Madhav Kumar Nepal, offered to step down. The election of Jhalanath Khanal as the next prime minister should thus come as a great relief to the people and also to the international community. But whether it ends the period of political vacuum in Nepal may remain an open question for some time.

Mr Khanal’s election was made possible by the withdrawal of the Maoist leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, from the prime ministerial race. Clearly, Mr Dahal did so as part of a strategy. It is easy to assume that the Maoists expect important gains for themselves in exchange for their support to Mr Khanal. They would like to get important portfolios such as home and external affairs and possibly even the post of the deputy prime minister. But their ultimate aim would be to influence the peace process and the drafting of the new constitution. Their insistence that the former guerrillas of the People’s Liberation Army be absorbed in the Nepal Army and the police are enough indication of the Maoists’ designs on the institutions of the new republic. Mr Khanal, who is the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), must guard against attempts to sabotage the future of democracy in Nepal.

Yet the new prime minister will need the Maoists’ help in concluding the peace process and drafting the new constitution as he did in order to be elected to the job. After all, the Maoists are the largest group in the country’s parliament and have the power to stall the government’s work inside and outside the legislature. Mr Khanal has the difficult task of forging a national consensus involving the Maoists, his own party, the Nepali Congress as well as the parties representing the indigenous ethnic groups. If the new constitution provides a federal structure for Nepal’s future government, it will call for a major restructuring of the polity.

How Nepal’s political transition takes place will be of crucial importance to New Delhi. India had a major role in ending Nepal’s 13-year-old Maoist insurgency. It now has high stakes in ensuring that the democratic transition in Kathmandu is not hijacked either by petty politics or by a new version of the Great Game.