Nepal PM Prachanda confident of winning 4th vote of confidence

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) said that he is confident of winning the trust vote in the House of Representatives on May 20.

The vote of confidence comes days after a coalition partner withdrew its support for his government.

Prachanda, belongs to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR). He will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament, the fourth within 18 months of taking office.

Recently, there have been obstructions in the House proceedings by the Opposition Nepali Congress demanding a probe into the alleged involvement of Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the misappropriation of cooperative funds.

“There is no doubt that my government will survive the floor test,” Prime Minister Prachanda said at a ruling party’s programme in Kathmandu on May 18, further adding, “The differences between the ruling alliance and opposition parties will be sorted out through dialogue.”

The prime minister is required to take a vote of confidence within 30 days if the party the PM is representing splits or if a member of the coalition government withdraws support. The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) withdrew its support last week while quitting the coalition government.

This will be Prime Minister Prachanda's fourth vote of confidence within one and a half years after he assumed the top executive position on December 25, 2022.

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

Last year, Prachanda faced a floor test after former prime minister KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential poll.

Prachanda's support has notably declined in successive confidence votes. In January 2023, he obtained 268 votes, followed by 172 in March of the same year. His support further dwindled to just 157 votes in the third-floor test.