Nepal PM Sharma Oli's coalition wins vote of confidence to lead new government

Nepal's newly appointed Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli comfortably won a vote of confidence in Parliament on Sunday, nearly a week after he was sworn in to lead a coalition government in the Himalayan nation.

Oli secured 188 votes in favour of the Vote of Confidence motion tabled by him while 74 votes were cast against the motion. Out of a total of 263 members of the House of Representatives, who were present, one member abstained.

Oli, 72, required 138 votes out of a total of 275 votes to pass the floor test in the House of Representatives (HoR).

Prime Minister Oli has won the vote of confidence in the Lower House, Speaker of the HoR Dev Raj Ghimire announced after the counting of votes.

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As the Parliament meeting started, Prime Minister Oli tabled the motion seeking a vote of confidence from the House.

Speaker Ghimire gave around two hours for HoR members and representatives from ruling and Opposition parties to discuss the motion. He then allotted time for the Prime Minister to give his response to the issues raised by HoR members.

The voting process started after the Prime Minister concluded his deliberations.

Responding to issues raised by the HoR members Oli said, “I was not and will not get involved in corruption neither will tolerate if anyone practices so.”

He said that the two larger parties “Nepali Congress and CPN-UML came together to maintain political stability, checking corruption and bring good governance.”

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“This coalition government will create a reliable eco-system for stability, development and good governance,” asserted Oli.

House of Representatives members belonging to the ruling alliance Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party and Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal were among those who voted in favour of Oli’s Vote of Confidence motion.

Opposition parties CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN-Unified Socialist, Rashtriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party among others voted against Oli during the floor test.

The veteran Communist leader was sworn in on Monday as the Himalayan nation's prime minister for the fourth time. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy along with 21 other members of the Cabinet.

According to Nepal's Constitution, Oli needed to secure a vote of confidence from Parliament within 30 days of appointment.

The Chairman of the CPN-UML, Nepal's largest communist party was appointed as prime minister on Sunday by President Ram Chandra Paudel to lead the coalition government with the Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in Parliament, apart from other smaller parties.

Oli succeeded Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda,' who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on July 12.

It is Oli's fourth term as Prime Minister. The CPN-UML Chairman now leads the new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation.

Nepal has faced frequent political turmoil as the country has seen 14 governments in the past 16 years after the introduction of the Republican system.

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