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KATHMANDU, Friday (AFP) Nepal's new prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa was sworn in but the formation of a new cabinet will take longer as the five main political parties have refused to join his government, sources said.

King Gyanendra administered the oath of office to Thapa at a simple ceremony at the Naryanhity Royal Palace in Kathmandu.

Thapa, 75, a veteran politician who has served as prime minister four times before, was appointed by the king on Wednesday in a decision that infuriated the main political parties.

Leaders of the kingdom's five main parties, who had submitted Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist Leninist (NCP-UML) as their choice for prime minister, said they would not cooperate with the new leader.

Meanwhile Maoist leader Prachanda said in a statement that Thapa's appointment would not affect ongoing peace talks.

"We ask the government to create congenial atmosphere for peace dialogue without delay instead of trying to dampen people's aspirations for peace and progress by changing the prime minister," he said. Although seen as a royalist, Thapa had joined with other leading politicians in criticising the king's sacking of then prime minister Sher Bahdur Deuba in October.

After he was sworn in, Thapa said his NDP had been the sixth party to raise its voice against the king. "Since I belong to the sixth political party protesting against the king and also for the people's democratic rights, I am confident of receiving full cooperation from the five agitating parties," he said.

The palace said Wednesday that Gyanendra wanted Thapa to choose a council of ministers to represent all shades of political opinion.

Thapa has been meeting with political leaders and is expected to include some of the politicians who worked under him in his previous governments, sources said.

"At the same time Thapa is trying to woo some of the senior leaders of the NCP-UML, the Nepali Congress (NC) and some other splinter communist parties to join his cabinet, but there is no definite answer from them," sources close to Thapa said.

"If the major political parties will not cooperate with Thapa to join his cabinet, some of the ministers of the outgoing Chand government are expected to be taken in." NC spokesman Arjun Narsingh K.C. said: "We are not going to join the Thapa government but we are continuing our struggle until the king agrees to meet our demands."

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