Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was sworn in as Prime Minister of Nepal on July 15, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: AP

K.P. Sharma Oli on July 15 was sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister for the fourth time.

The leader of Nepal’s largest communist party was appointed Nepal’s Prime Minister on Sunday by President Ram Chandra Paudel to lead a new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation.

Mr. Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Friday, leading to the formation of the new government headed by Mr. Oli.

He became the Prime Minister with the support of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament.

Mr. Oli was sworn in by President Paudel at Shital Niwas, the main building of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Editorial | ​Unprincipled alliances: On politics in Nepal

Mr. Oli now needs to secure a vote of confidence from Parliament within 30 days of appointment according to the constitutional mandate. Mr. Oli will need a minimum of 138 votes in the 275-seat House of Representatives (HoR).

Modi congratulates Oli

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr. Oli on his appointment as Prime Minister of Nepal and said he looked forward to working closely with him to further strengthen the friendship between the two countries.

Congratulating Mr. Oli, Mr. Modi said on X, “Look forward to working closely to further strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between our two countries and to further expand our mutually beneficial cooperation for the progress and prosperity of our peoples.”

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal delivers a speech before a confidence vote at the parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 12, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ lost a vote of confidence in Parliament on July 12 after the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) withdrew its support for his government.

Prachanda received only 63 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives (HoR) and there were 194 votes against the motion. At least 138 votes are needed to win the vote of trust. A total of 258 HoR members participated in the voting while one member abstained.

Mr. Dahal, 69, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC), had survived four trust votes since he assumed the prime minister’s post on December 25, 2022.

He faced the same predicament yet another time because ex-premier K.P. Sharma Oli-led Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) withdrew support from the Prachanda-led government last week after inking a power-sharing deal with the largest party in the House — the Nepali Congress (NC).

Earlier, Speaker of the HoR Dev Raj Ghimire put Prachanda’s Vote of Trust for voting according to Article 100 Clause 2 of the Constitution. After voting was completed, he announced that the Vote of Trust was defeated with a majority vote.

Speaker Ghimire will now inform President Ram Chandra Paudel, who will invite two or more political parties to stake a claim for the new government, according to Article 76 Clause 2 of the Constitution. This paves the way for the NC and the CPN-UML to form a new coalition government.

NC, CPN-UML power sharing deal

The NC has 89 seats in the HoR, while CPN-UML has 78. Their combined strength of 167 is more than the 138 required for a majority in the lower house.

Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba has already endorsed Mr. Oli as the next prime minister.

Mr. Deuba and Mr. Oli inked a 7-point deal on Monday to form a new coalition government.

According to the agreement, they will share the premiership during the remaining period of the House of Representatives — Mr. Oli will become the Prime Minister for one and a half years and then Mr. Deuba will take the seat for the rest of the period.

Prachanda, whose party had 32 seats in the HoR, was elected the Prime Minister for the third time on December 25, 2022, with the backing of CPN-UML.

Prachanda was elected the Prime Minister as per Article 76 Clause 2 of the Constitution of Nepal, which has a provision for electing a Prime Minister with the support of two or more parties.

As the HoR session began in the early afternoon, embattled Prachanda sharply criticised the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML for striking an alliance “out of fear” rather than shared principles and accused them of pushing the nation toward regression.

Prachanda voiced concerns about potential regression and autocracy, asserting that the NC and the CPN-UML had joined forces as good governance began to take root in the country.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has exuded confidence that he would win the trust vote in the House of Representatives on Monday, days after a coalition partner withdrew its support for his government.

Mr. Prachanda, 69, a former guerilla leader, 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, amidst obstruction of 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 Saturday.

“The differences between the ruling alliance and opposition parties will be sorted out through dialogue,” he said.

The Prime Minister is required to take a vote of confidence within 30 days if the party the Prime Minister 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.

Earlier on March 13, Prime Minister Dahal won his third consecutive vote of confidence.

Last year, Mr. 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.

Mr. 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.

Currently, the ruling coalition holds a majority with 77 seats of the CPN-UML, 32 of the Maoist Centre, 21 of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, seven of the newly formed Janata Samajbadi Party and 10 seats of the CPN-Unified Socialist (CPN-US).

Meanwhile, the major political parties have agreed to form a panel to look into the misappropriation of fund by cooperatives.