Unopposed PM: Maoist chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal wins vote of confidence from nearly all members of parliament

Addressing the house session before the confidence vote, PM Dahal dubbed the support as 'unprecedented' and justice done to him by political parties.

NL Today

  • Read Time 2 min.

Kathmandu: In a rare show of surprising political twist, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ won the vote of confidence from nearly all MPs in Nepal’s lower house on Tuesday. 

With the support from nearly all the political parties represented in the House of Representatives, he will lead an opposition-less government in the country, a rare case in Nepal’s history of parliamentary system. 

Dahal had already secured enough votes to win the vote of confidence with support from as many as 166 members of parliament at the time of presenting his claim for the position. 

He has now become the Prime Minister with the support from nearly all the parties effectively rendering the second parliament after the promulgation of constitution in 2015 and the government constituted by that parliament ‘opposition-less’ with utmost likelihood of no checks and questioning on the activities of the government.

Prachanda secured  a total of 268 votes  from the 275-member lower House of Nepal’s federal parliament, announced Pashupati Shumsher Rana, a RPP leader who chaired the House meeting on the basis of seniority. “I declare that the prime minister’s motion to seek a vote of confidence has been approved by the house.” 

Only two members voted against the confidence motion while one MP chose to remain neutral.   

Those to vote against are Chitra Bahadur KC of Rastriya Janamorcha, and Prem Suwal Nepal Workers Peasants  Party.

Until Monday, Nepali Congress, the party that emerged as the largest force from the federal parliament elections held in November last month, was resolute against supporting Dahal. 

The twist came Tuesday morning when Nepali Congress called a meeting of the central working committee where party president Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed voting in favor of PM Dahal in floor test. However, Deuba’s decision has been opposed and criticized by a number of office bearers in the party including by general secretary duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma.

Some Congress leaders have expressed surprise over what exactly provoked the party leadership to give a stamp of approval to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government.