Kathmandu, July 12 :
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ lost the confidence vote in the Nepal Parliament on Friday, leading to the defeat of his government.
In the floor test in the House of Representatives, PM Dahal failed to secure the required 138 votes needed to endorse the trust motion, with only 63 lawmakers voting in his favour in the 275-member House.
A total of 194 lawmakers voted against him, while a member cast a no vote. A total of 258 lawmakers were present in Friday’s meeting of the Lower House.
Those casting votes in his favour included lawmakers from Maoist Center, Unified Socialist and Rastriya Swatantra Party.
Those who cast votes against him included lawmakers from Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), JSP-Nepal and Janamat Party, Kathmandu Post reported.
The prime minister opted for the floor test in accordance with Article 100(2) of the constitution after the CPN-UML withdrew its support to the government following a deal with the Nepali Congress to form a new coalition, reducing the Dahal-led government to a minority.
Speaking at the Parliament while presenting the trust motion earlier in the morning, PM Dahal said his party would not weaken the constitution and not allow others to do so.
Stating that the constitution provides a month’s time for the prime minister to seek a vote of trust, he said the party under his leadership will consistently defend the constitution.
“The Maoist Centre has made a big sacrifice in the course of making this constitution. Therefore, the Maoist does not make it weak and it also does not allow it to be enfeebled,” said PM Dahal while addressing the House meeting.
It was the fifth floor test for the prime minister after being appointed prime minister on December 25, 2022.
Dahal had gone for the floor test for the first time on January 10, 2023. He had received 268 votes then. The prime minister won the trust motion for the second time only three months later as he broke ties with the CPN-UML and forged an alliance with the Nepali Congress. He secured the support of 172 lawmakers at the time.
He had to seek the vote of confidence for a third time after Congress withdrew its support to the government after Dahal again broke the alliance with Congress and joined hands with the CPN-UML and other parties on March 4. He had received 157 votes then.
A split in the Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepal, in May of this year forced Dahal to face the floor again, where he secured the vote of confidence for the fourth time with 157 votes.
President Ramchandra Paudel will now make a call for a new government formation.
The UML is planning to claim the formation of a new government with the support of over two-thirds of the lawmakers. As per the understanding between Nepali Congress and UML, UML chair KP Sharma Oli will lead the new ‘national consensus government’ for a year and a half. For the remaining term of the present parliament, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba will be the prime minister.
