Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ loses vote of confidence in Parliament

Nepal PM Prachanda loses vote of confidence as CPN-UML withdraws support, paving way for K.P. Sharma Oli to become PM.

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, 69, received 63 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives (HoR). There were 194 votes against the motion. At least 138 votes are needed to win the vote of trust. He has survived four trust votes since he assumed the post on December 25, 2022.

Former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew support from the Prachanda-led government last week after inking a power-sharing deal with the largest party in the House – Nepali Congress. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has already endorsed Mr. Oli as the next prime minister.

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