Nepal’s Prime Minister Prachanda to seek vote of confidence today

Nepal's Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as 'Prachanda', is set to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament today — March 13, PTI reported. This move comes after Prachanda parted ways with the Nepali Congress and formed a new alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML).

Prachanda, a former guerrilla leader from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), which is the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR), officially broke ties with the Nepali Congress by sending a letter to the Parliament Secretariat.

As per constitutional requirements, a prime minister must seek a vote of confidence when an ally withdraws support from the ruling coalition. With the Nepali Congress withdrawing support, Prachanda needs to prove his majority.

Forming New Alliances

Prachanda has formed a fresh alliance with the CPN-UML, led by former Prime Minister KP Oli, despite past criticisms from Oli towards Prachanda.

To secure the vote of confidence, Prachanda's government needs at least 138 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives. This will mark Prachanda's third confidence vote since taking office in December 2022.

Currently, the Prachanda-led coalition government has the backing of 150 members in the lower house of Parliament.

The CPN-UML, the second-largest party in the HoR, has 76 seats, while Prachanda's CPN-Maoist Centre holds 32 seats. Additionally, other parties such as the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, the Janata Samajwadi Party, and the CPN-Unified Socialist hold 20, 12, and 10 seats respectively.

Political Developments

Ahead of the vote, the CPN-Maoist Centre has issued a directive for all its members in the HoR to be present.

This marks Prachanda's third bid for a vote of confidence in less than one-and-a-half years since he assumed office for the third term on December 25, 2022.

Previously, Prachanda faced a similar test when the Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew support due to disagreements, resulting in a floor test. In 2017, Prachanda and Oli merged their parties to secure a majority, but their partnership dissolved over time due to internal conflicts.

Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress party has urged its members to vote against Prachanda's government.

However, ahead of the vote, five political parties within the ruling alliance have signed a seven-point agreement, pledging their support to the Prachanda-led government.