January 11: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has secured the vote of confidence in parliament with support from more than two thirds of the total 275 lawmakers in the House of Representatives (HoR).
Dahal, who was elected the new prime minister on December 25 under Article 76 (2) of the constitution, secured the vote of confidence as per Article 76 (4) on Tuesday within the 30-day deadline.
Nepali Congress, the largest party in parliament, also voted in favour of Dahal although the NC is not among the reliance alliance anymore. NC parliamentary party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba had issued a whip to vote in favour of Dahal.
During the voting that took place in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday, PM Dahal received support from an overwhelming 268 lawmakers to cement his position as the new prime minister. Only two lawmakers – Prem Suwal of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) and Chitra Bahadur KC of People’s Front – voted against Dahal’s bid for premiership, the eldest Member of Parliament (MP) Pashupati Shumsher JBR informed the HoR while announcing the result.
Out of 275 MPs in the HoR, one is suspended due to an ongoing court case. Out of the remaining MPs, 270 took part in the voting while four lawmakers abstained from voting.
Among those who did not vote include RPP leader Pashupati SJB Rana, who is currently assuming the role of the house speaker until the election of a new speaker on January 19.
Other three MPs who abstained from voting are from the NC, who decided to go against the party’s whip.
Besides the four MPs, all other lawmakers from all the political parties as well as independent lawmakers voted in favour of PM Dahal.
The Nepali Congress which has 89 lawmakers in the HoR followed CPN (UML) with 79 MPs, CPN (Maoist Centre) with 32 MPs, Rastriya Swatantra Party (20 MPs), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (14 MPs), Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal (12 MPs), CPN Unified Socialist (10 MPs), Janamat Party (6 MPs), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (4 MPs), Nagarik Unmukti Party (4 MPs), and independent lawmakers all voted in favour of PM Dahal.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari had appointed CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Dahal to the post of the PM on December 25, 2022.
The CPN (Maoist Centre) is the third largest political force in the HoR with 32 seats from the recently held elections to the HoR.
