Kathmandu, Nepal, February 27, 2023: Nepal’s political landscape has seen another round of turmoil after two major alliances of the incumbent CPN Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal government-CPN-UML and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) withdrew their support to the government formed on last December 25.
Though the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has not withdrawn its support to the government, its ministers have already resigned from the posts triggering pressure to the government. Constitutional experts have divided over whether or not the Prime Minister Dahal needs to take vote of confidence from the parliament in less than two months after assuming his office.
Although the UML and RPP have withdrawn their support, Prime Minister Dahal still commands support of majority members in parliament since he had received 268 votes in parliament. Since the incumbent Dahal-led government still holds majority strength in the parliament, some have argued that there would not necessary to take vote of confidence until and unless it fall in minority.
Some constitutional experts, however, have argued that there is a constitutional as well as moral obligation to the government to take the vote of confidence from the parliament.
Article 100 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, has made a provision about the vote of confidence that the prime minister needs to table a motion in the House of Representatives (HoR) for a vote of confidence within thirty days in case the political party, which the prime minister represents, is divided or a political party in coalition government withdraws its support.
Likewise, article 100 (3) of the same constitution has made the same provision that the prime minister will automatically relieve from the post in case such a motion is not adopted by a majority of the total number of the then members of the HoR.
However, constitutional provision has not specified about taking vote of confidence in this situation though it is provisioned that vote of confidence could not be registered against of the government within two years once it get vote of confidence from the HoR.
The newly formed eight party’s alliance formed under the leadership of the NC has initiated a process to chalk out a strategy after CPN UML quitted the government paving the way to form a new government from center to provincial levels.
However, a meeting of the alliance held on Monday did not reach on conclusion on whether to join in the government immediately or to wait until the government takes vote of confidence from the parliament.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Dahal expressed his desire to reshuffle the Cabinet in order to fill as many as 16 vacant ministries. ‘Prime Minister Dahal intends to reshuffle the cabinet but not include new one until parties under the alliance agreed upon over the issue,’ a leader close to the Maoist Center said all the decision will be taken only after an agreement among the alliance partners.
‘The alliance held discussions on ranges of issues related to the recent political development but not reached on the conclusion regarding the expansion of the cabinet’, NC Spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said ‘further discussion among the alliance partners would pave the way regarding the expansion of the cabinet.’
