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Nepal PM Prachanda loses trust vote in Parliament
Prachanda lost trust vote in parliament after the largest party in his government, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), withdrew support
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Nepal's prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda on Friday lost trust vote in parliament after the largest party in his government, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), withdrew support, AP reported.
The trust vote defeat means the 69-year-old leader would be forced to step down after 19 months in power.
As per the report, Dahal failed to receive support of more than half the members of House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament on Friday, needed to win the vote.
According to Nepal parliament speaker Dev Raj Ghimire, Dahal received 63 votes in his favor while 194 other members voted against him, denying him the majority required to hold on to power.
Dahal was forced to move a confidence motion after the CPN (UML) pulled out support last week and joined hands with the Nepali Congress to form a new alliance.
According to the alliance, Khadga Prasad Oli, the leader of the communist party, will be the new prime minister of Nepal.
Dahal had been leading a shaky governing coalition since becoming prime minister in December 2022 after an inconclusive election in which his party finished third. But he formed a new alliance and became its leader and the prime minister.
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Dahal had to seek a vote of confidence in parliament five times since he became leader because of disagreements within his coalition partners.
This was his third time as the prime minister of the Himalayan nation since his Maoist group ended an armed revolt and joined mainstream politics in 2006.
Dahal led a violent Maoist communist insurgency from 1996 to 2006. More than 17,000 people were killed and the status of many others remains unknown.
The Maoists gave up their armed revolt, joined a U.N.-assisted peace process in 2006 and entered mainstream politics.
Dahal’s party secured the most parliamentary seats in 2008 and he became prime minister, but quit a year later over differences with the president.
