KATHMANDU, July 8: The government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has fallen into a minority. The UML moved to the opposition bench in the federal parliament meeting on Sunday. The UML has also sought the reason for the Prime Minister's delay in resigning through the parliamentary party meeting on Sunday itself. While expressing their opinion in parliament, the MPs of the UML said that Prime Minister Dahal should immediately resign to facilitate a smooth transition.
In response to UML’s call for resignation, the ruling Maoist Center MPs said that the Prime Minister would seek a vote of confidence. UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula objected to Prime Minister Dahal's reluctance to resign even after the UML had withdrawn its vote of confidence given to the PM.
Prime Minister Dahal has already sent a letter to the Parliament Secretariat requesting to place the resolution on the vote of confidence on the agenda of the House of Representatives on July 12. This was informed by Speaker Devraj Ghimire in the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday. According to Article 100 (2) of the Constitution, if a party that has supported the government withdraws its support, the Prime Minister must take a vote of confidence within 30 days. "If the party represented by the Prime Minister splits or if the party participating in the government withdraws its support, the Prime Minister shall submit a proposal to the House of Representatives for a vote of confidence within 30 days," as written in Article 100 (2) of the Constitution.
Prime Minister Dahal, who is about to take the vote of confidence, has 32 MPs from his party, the Maoist Center. The Maoists are the third largest party in the House of Representatives. Similarly, the fourth largest party in the House of Representatives, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has 21 MPs. The other party in the government is the CPN (Unified Socialist) which has 10 MPs. CPN (Unified Socialist) has already said that it will give a vote of confidence to the Prime Minister.
Cabinet yet to get full shape due to NC’s internal conflict
Leader Jagannath Khatiwada said that despite knowing that the government will collapse, his party CPN (Unified Socialist) is going to give it a vote of confidence. It seems that the RSP will also vote in favor of PM Dahal as the RSP ministers who had gone to Baluwatar to submit their resignations to the Prime Minister returned without doing so. But the party hasn't made a decision about it yet.
The Janamat Party (6 MPs) and the Nagarik Unmukti Party (4 MPs), which had earlier given a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Dahal, have also indicated that they will support the Congress-UML alliance. Nepali Congress and UML have given a vote of confidence to Janmat Party Chief Minister in Madhesh. Madhesh has a government led by the Janamat Party. The Madhesh-centric Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) has also given a vote of confidence to Chief Minister Singh. Maoist Center, CPN (Unified Socialist) Party, Sanghiya Samajwadi Party did not give a vote of confidence to Chief Minister Singh. For this reason, Janamat Party will stand in support of the NC-UML coalition. Since Rastriya Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary has already met with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, it is understood that his party will also support the Nepali Congress-UML coalition. However, neither Janamat Party nor Rastriya Unmukti Party has made an official decision on this matter yet.
Currently, the Maoist Center, RSP, and CPN (Unified Socialist) are in favor of Prime Minister Dahal. These three parties have a total of 53 MPs, while 138 MPs' support is required to secure a vote of confidence in the 275-member House of Representatives. Unless there is no upheaval, it is certain that Dahal will not receive the vote of confidence. However, he wants to take a vote of confidence so that the process of next government formation enters the constitutional process mentioned in Article 76 (3) of the Constitution. Sources claim that Dahal is trying to 'maneuver' so that the government formation process takes place as per Article 76 (3) of the Constitution.
UML Chief Whip Bartaula stated that the new government will be formed in accordance with Article 76(2) of the Constitution. "There are still attempts to create confusion and destabilize the country through various conspiracies, but all these maneuvers will fail," he said. "Based on the precedents of the Supreme Court, practical reasons, and political reasons, a new government will be formed in accordance with Article 76(2) of the Constitution," he said. According to Article 76(2), Dahal was appointed Prime Minister on December 25, 2022, with the support of two or more parties represented in the House of Representatives. Since then, although he has repeatedly changed the power coalition, the government remains under the same article.
In this situation, UML Chief Whip Bartaula stated that since Prime Minister Dahal has no basis for securing a vote of confidence, he should resign to clear the way. Announcing the decision made by the UML parliamentary party on Sunday, he stated that the Prime Minister, who has lost the confidence of parliament, has no option but to resign. "He is already in the minority, and there is no need for him to seek a vote of confidence. If he does, the UML will vote against him," Bartaula said.
In the House of Representatives, the Nepali Congress and the UML have 88 and 78 MPs, respectively. Together, the two parties have 166 MPs. It is almost certain that four MPs from the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) and seven MPs from the Janata Samajwadi Party will support the Nepali Congress-UML coalition. JSP-Nepal, with its five MPs, has also expressed a positive stance towards the new coalition. Similarly, Rastriya Prajatantra Party with its 14 MPs has indicated support for the new coalition upon clear articulation of constitutional amendments, thereby increasing the possibility of their additional support.
Sources claim that if the government under Prime Minister Dahal’s leadership fails to garner a vote of confidence as per Article 76(2) of the Constitution, he will explore the possibility under Article 76 (3) to form a new government under the leadership of a major party.
In the current scenario where the UML and the Janata Samajwadi Party withdrew their support to the government, concerns have been raised about the purpose behind the decision taken by PM Dahal for July 12. Sources claim that there's a hidden conspiracy by Dahal, but it is unlikely to succeed. Nepali Congress and UML have reiterated their commitment to forming the government under Article 76 (2) of the Constitution. They have urged the Dahal government not to make any appointments, transfers, promotions, or similar decisions. However, contrary to the coalition's request, the government has initiated interviews for the appointment of Managing Director at Nepal Telecom. Despite pressure from senior officials to make long-term decisions, the employees' union has reportedly rejected them.
