Ruling Nepali Congress emerges as largest party; wins 57 seats under direct voting in Nepal's House of Representatives polls
The Hindu
Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on November 20
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress emerged as the largest party by winning 57 seats in Nepal's parliamentary election as the counting of votes under the direct system concluded here on December 5, brightening the party's chances of forming the new government.
Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on November 20 to end the prolonged political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation. The counting of votes started a day later.
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In the 275-member HoR, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system. A party or a coalition needs 138 seats for a clear majority.
According to Nepal's Election Commission, the Nepali Congress has won 57 seats under direct voting, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML) has bagged 44 seats, while the CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist have emerged victorious on 18 and 10 seats respectively.
Similarly, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) have won seven seats each. Likewise, the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party have won 4 and 3 seats respectively, it said.
Rastriya Janamorcha, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and Janamat Party have won one seat each. The independent candidates have won five seats, it added.
With a new government in place in Delhi, Singapore hopes to schedule the Ministerial Roundtable with India shortly, says Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. In an exclusive interview, he speaks about the impact of the elections on ties, the “missed opportunity” of RCEP and the new buzz around Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati.