NEPAL’S PM OLI LOSES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, speaker Agni Sapkota said, pitching the country into political turmoil at a time when it is battling a major second wave of Covid-19 infections. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari is expected to ask Oli to lead a caretaker government while parties in parliament seek to form a new government. Sapkota said that of the 232 lawmakers present, 93 voted in favour of Oli while 124 were against him and 15 did not vote. Oli’s Nepal Communist Party split from former Maoist rebels in March after differences cropped up over its power-sharing deal, wiping out their governing majority.
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli lost a crucial trust vote in the House of Representatives on Monday, pushing the Himalayan nation into further political turmoil amid a record surge in Covid-19 cases.
Oli lost the vote of confidence motion, days after the Nepal Communist Party Maoist Centre or CPN-MC, led by Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda” withdrew its support, reducing the government to a minority.
Nepal Communist Party’s
Oli, who decided to seek the trust of the 275-member House on his government, managed to garner only 93 votes, which fell short of 43 votes to reach the 136-mark and win the vote of confidence during a special session of the lower house.
A total of 124 members voted against the confidence motion while 15 members stayed neutral, speaker Agni Sapkota announced. The session was attended by 232 lawmakers.
“As the votes cast in favour of the motion fell short to achieve a majority of the existing strength of the House of Representatives, I hereby declare that the prime minister’s motion to seek a vote of confidence has been rejected,” Sapkota announced before adjourning the House.
With this, PM Oli is automatically relieved from his post as per Article 100 (3) of Nepal’s constitution.
The main opposition, Nepali Congress and CPN-MC, which control 61 and 49 votes, voted against Oli’s trust motion.
After losing the vote of confidence, the PM is automatically removed from his post and now a new coalition government will be formed as per the constitutional process.