Nepal PM Prachanda to reshuffle Cabinet, seek confidence vote deferred due to Presidential elections

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is preparing to reshuffle his Cabinet to fill as many as 16 Ministries, which fell vacant after three political parties pulled out of his government, as part of his efforts to keep the newly formed fragile coalition together.

With the crucial Presidential election in Nepal just nine days away, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda will seek a vote of confidence and reshuffle his Cabinet only after the polls, a media report on March 1 quoted officials as saying.

Mr. Prachanda is preparing to reshuffle his Cabinet to fill as many as 16 Ministries, which fell vacant after three political parties pulled out of his government, as part of his efforts to keep the newly formed fragile coalition together.

Government spokesperson Rekha Sharma said Mr. Prachanda will seek a vote of confidence and reshuffle his Cabinet only after the Presidential polls on March 9, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

“The constitutional and legal provision for the Prime Minister to seek a vote of confidence will be followed within the given timeframe,” Mr. Sharma said at the press meeting.

"But we are currently focussed on the Presidential elections.” With the Election Commission issuing an election code of conduct with effect from Wednesday until March 19, the Cabinet can only be reshuffled after that.

Nepal's second largest party in Parliament — CPN-UML — on Monday withdrew its support to the "Prachanda"-led government following a rift over backing the Nepali Congress' candidate for the Presidential poll, plunging the Himalayan nation to another spell of political instability.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has also quit the government. The Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has also withdrawn its Ministers from the government. However, it would keep supporting the government from the outside.