Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Monday lost a confidence vote in parliament and failed to ensure enough support needed to remain in office, prompting a major political upheaval, according to the vote results
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2021) Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Monday lost a confidence vote in parliament and failed to ensure enough support needed to remain in office, prompting a major political upheaval, according to the vote results.
The prime minister has been criticized over the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, with the country reporting record-high new cases and fatalities in the past few days.
During a special session of the lower house, 124 lawmakers voted to withdraw their support for the prime minister, while 93 backed him and 15 abstained from voting. To win the floor, Oli needed to secure 136 votes.
In the meantime, Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari has called on the opposition to prove the majority within three days. If it fails, the country will have a new election.
In the light of the events, Sher Bahadur Deuba, president of the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, urged the authorities to move forward with the formation of a new government under the provisions of the country's constitution. However, sources told Sputnik that the opposition was able to rally up only 124 votes out of 136 needed to form the majority.
"In any case, the country is going to have another election as neither opposition nor the ruling party has the required majority. In fact, K P Sharma Oli also want a fresh election in view of the political chaos," the government sources said.
At the same time, the alliance of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)-Maoist Center, the Nepali Congress party and the People's Socialist Party, asked the president to invoke Article 76(2) of the constitution, which stipulates that a party with the highest number of lawmakers gets to form the government.
"We comprise the largest party so we should be given chance to form the government," CPN spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha told Sputnik.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis in December 2020 after Bhandari dissolved the country's parliament at the request of Oli and called for snap general elections, a move deemed by many unconstitutional.
