Nepal PM Prachanda wins vote of confidence in Parliament

Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Monday won a vote of confidence in Parliament, allowing him to lead a coalition government in the Himalayan nation while attempting to maintain political stability amidst frequent power struggles.

Prachanda, 69, a former guerilla leader from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) -- the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR) -- received 157 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives.

The government required at least 138 votes to win the vote of trust.

In total, 158 lawmakers took part in the voting. The main Opposition Nepali Congress boycotted the voting process and chanted slogans against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, accused of misappropriating cooperative funds, leading to the delay in the session. One HoR member remained neutral.

Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire announced that Prachanda had won the floor test as he got a majority in Parliament.

This was the fourth time that Prachanda sought a vote of confidence in the House since he assumed prime ministership in December 2022.

The vote comes days after one of the coalition partners, Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), withdrew its support last week for his government while quitting the coalition government.

Earlier, the voting had to be delayed due to obstructions caused by the Nepali Congress, which has been demanding the formation of a Parliamentary probe committee to investigate Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in the scam.

According to constitutional provisions, a prime minister has to take a vote of confidence after an ally withdraws support to the ruling coalition.

Earlier on March 13, Prime Minister Dahal won his third consecutive vote of confidence, days after he dumped the Nepali Congress and forged a new alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).

Last year, Prachanda faced a floor test after former prime minister KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential poll.

Prachanda is serving a third time as prime minister, although he did not complete the full five-year term during previous stints.

In the past few decades, three big parties — the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, and the Maoist Centre — have ruled the country turn by turn, forever changing coalitions and partners at their convenience.

Nepal has had 13 governments since it abolished its 239-year-old monarchy in 2008 and became a republic.