Nepal PM Prachanda to seek vote of confidence in Parliament

Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will seek a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives on Friday, days after the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) withdrew its support for his government.

Former prime minister K P Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML, the largest party in the ruling coalition, withdrew support from the Prachanda-led government last week after inking a power-sharing deal with the largest party in the House - Nepali Congress.

The Nepali Congress has 89 seats at present, while CPN-UML has 78 seats. Their combined strength of 167 is much more than the 138 seats required for a majority in the lower house. Prachanda's Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has 32 seats.

The prime minister is required to take a vote of confidence within 30 days if the party he is representing splits or if a member of the coalition government withdraws support, as per Article 100 Clause 2 of the Constitution.

This will be the fifth vote of confidence for 69-year-old Prime Minister Prachanda within one and a half years after he assumed the top executive position on December 25, 2022.

He requires at least 138 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives to win the vote of trust.