Nepal’s Prime Minister Prachanda lost the trust vote in Parliament; Oli may become the new PM

News Bureau, July 12

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Friday lost the trust vote in Parliament when the largest party in his coalition government withdrew its support. Due to this, he had to step down after 19 months in power. Dahal failed to secure the support of more than half of the members of the lower house of Parliament, the House of Representatives, which was necessary to win the vote.

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli is set to take over as the new Prime Minister with the support of the Nepali Congress. The new coalition has agreed that Communist Party leader Oli will become the new Prime Minister.

Just 10 days ago, Prachanda’s coalition partner Nepal’s Communist Party-Unified Marxist Leninist withdrew support and vowed to lead the government himself. Only 63 members in the 275-member House of Representatives supported the motion moved by Prachanda. 194 opposed it and one member abstained from voting.

Dahal was leading a fragile coalition since becoming prime minister in December 2022 after his party finished third in an inconclusive election. Despite this, he managed to form a new coalition and take on the role of prime minister.

Prachanda’s third term, starting in December 2022, has seen frequent changes of coalition partners. They had survived the previous four confidence votes, but were not as lucky this time.

Members could be seen congratulating Oli soon after Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire announced Prachanda’s defeat.

Oli and Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba are expected to meet President Ram Chandra Paudel to carry a memorandum signed by MPs of both parties and stake claim to appoint Oli as the new prime minister.

The two parties have the support of a total of 167 members in the House. The new government will have to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament within 30 days of its formation.