Nepal PM loses majority after coalition partner quits

 Constitutional changes on the agenda as new bloc is set to form government in Nepal 

The NC and the CPN-UML have reached an agreement to oust Prime Minister Prachanda and form a new coalition government

AFP & PTI, Kathmandu, Jul 3, 2024 :  Embattled Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost his government's majority Wednesday after his key coalition partner withdrew support, triggering fresh political uncertainty in Kathmandu's volatile parliament. 

Dahal is expected to face a vote of confidence in parliament within 30 days.

Dahal, a 69-year-old ex-Maoist guerrilla better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, or "the fierce one", has held the prime minister's position since December 2022 through fragile alliances.

Four months ago, Dahal sacked his old allies and rebuilt his partnership with the Communist Party of Nepali - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), but it did not hold.

When Dahal sought a vote of confidence on May 20 after the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal withdrew its support, he had received 157 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives.

The UML’s withdrawal of support has reduced 77 votes.

"All the ministers have resigned, we have withdrawn our support and have informed the prime minister," Mahesh Bartaula, chief whip of CPN-UML, told AFP.

Differences within the top leadership paved the way for CPN-UML's chairman KP Sharma Oli to strike a midnight deal with Sher Bahadur Deuba of the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) on Tuesday.

NC chief secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel announced details in a statement on Wednesday, after a meeting of party leaders.

"This meeting expresses the conviction to implement the agreement for CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli to first lead a new national consensus government, and then for Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to lead it," the statement read.

The Maoists have played a key role in Nepal's politics for more than 20 years, after waging a decade-long insurgency against government forces that claimed more than 16,000 lives.

The civil war ended in a 2006 peace deal, which saw rebel leader Dahal become Nepal's first post-war prime minister.

The three main parties -- the Maoists, CPN-UML, and the NC -- have since monopolised politics, forming varying brittle coalitions with one another.

Nepal, a Himalayan nation of 30 million people, is sandwiched between powerful neighbours India and China -- with both New Delhi and Beijing campaigning for influence.

Nepal's next general elections are to be held in 2027. 

Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba Wednesday asked Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to resign and pave the way for the formation of a new government, as the ruling coalition partner CPN-UML withdrew support after a power-sharing deal with the largest party to oust the former guerrilla leader.

“The Prime Minister should resign after the largest parties NC and UML said that they would form a new government together,” Deuba told reporters after a crucial meeting of the party at his residence at Budhanilkantha on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Deuba, 78, and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) chairman K P Sharma Oli, 72, – both former premiers – inked a power-sharing deal Monday night to form a new government. They agreed to share the Prime Ministerial position on a rotation basis for the rest of the term of the Parliament.

Meanwhile, the largest party in the ruling coalition – CPN-UML – withdrew support to Prime Minister Prachanda-led government.

“Our party has withdrawn support to the government,” said Bishnu Rijal, deputy chief of UML’s publicity committee.

The CPN-UML has eight ministers in the Prachanda Cabinet, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth. The CPN-UML joined the government on March 5, after Prime Minister Prachanda allied with the CPN-UML, ditching its year-long partnership with the Congress.

All the UML ministers have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister, Rijal added.

Nepali Congress, the largest party in the 275-member House of Representatives, has 89 seats at present, while CPN-UML has 78 seats. Their combined strength of 167 is sufficient for a majority of 138 seats in the lower house. Prachanda’s party has 32 seats.

The Nepali Congress Central Work Performance Committee (CWC) earlier in the day met at Deuba’s residence at Budhanilkantha to discuss the current political situation and the party’s future strategy.

“The meeting reviewed the latest political situation in the country and discussed the future course of action,” said NC spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat.

The meeting also endorsed the agreement reached between Deuba and Oli to form a new coalition and share the post of Prime Minister on a rotation basis, he said.

The meeting mainly discussed the agenda and modality of formation of the new coalition government.

The seven-point deal finalised between Deuba and Oli on Monday night includes the sharing of the remaining three-year term of Parliament between the two parties, the ministerial division, provincial leadership roles and a rotation for the prime ministerial position. Oli will assume the post of Prime Minister in the first phase and after one-and-a-half-year, the Nepali Congress will get the leadership of the government.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, party spokesperson Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat said, “The prime minister should pave the way after the largest parties — Nepali Congress and UML — said they would form a new government together. This is also included in the decision.” “Other parties, too, are supporting the new Nepali Congress-UML alliance. So, the Nepali Congress CWC has requested the prime minister to pave the way,” he added.

Mahat said a new government will be formed through the constitutional process if the prime minister does not pave the way for the formation of a new government.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal Manish Suman said that his party will support the new coalition but has not yet decided on joining the government.

JSP Nepal has five members in the Parliament. Rastriya Prajatantra Party with 14 members in the House of Representatives and Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party with four seats have also indicated support for the new coalition.

However, embattled Prime Minister Prachanda has refused to resign from the post and said he would rather face a vote of confidence in Parliament.

According to the constitutional provision, the prime minister losing a majority support in the House will be required to prove a majority within 30 days. The prime minister must seek a vote of confidence once a ruling alliance withdraws support. This will be the fifth time Prachanda, 69, will seek a vote of confidence within a term of one and a half years.

The former guerilla leader has won three votes of confidence in Parliament.

The CPN-UML has already urged Prime Minister Prachanda to step down from the position so that a new government can be formed as per the constitutional provision.

It also asked all the political parties to join the “national government” under the leadership of Oli to bolster political stability in the country.

Nepal has had 13 governments in the last 16 years, indicating the fragile nature of the Himalayan nation’s political system. 

Kathmandu Post : The CPN-UML, the largest party in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government until Wednesday, has withdrawn its support following Monday midnight’s political deal with the Nepali Congress.

The UML’s move has rendered the Dahal government in a minority and relegated it to a caretaker one.

When Dahal sought a vote of confidence on May 20 after the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal withdrew its support, he had received 157 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives.

The UML’s withdrawal of support has reduced 77 votes.

Now the prime minister must secure a vote of confidence from Parliament within 30 days to stay in power, but given the current political equation, winning the trust vote is unlikely.

“This government was formed to achieve some special objectives like creating jobs and addressing public frustration,” said Padam Giri, minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, after submitting the letter of support withdrawal. “But looking back at those four months, we have not achieved the progress we desired.”

CPN-UML chair and parliamentary party leader KP Sharma Oli signed the letter, which states that the party decided to withdraw its support to the Dahal government to bring political stability through a national consensus government. The UML had joined the Dahal government on March 4.

The party also recalled its ministers from the government.

“The frustration of the people remains the same, the unemployment situation hasn’t changed, and the economic situation hasn’t improved. The UML was not consulted while formulating the government’s policies and programmes and before presenting the national budget,” said Giri.

After submitting the letter to Prime Minister Dahal, Giri also accused him of failing to realise that he was leading a coalition government.

Receiving the letter, Dahal did not speak much, but recalled a Nepali song by the late singer Phatteman: “yesto pani hundo raichha jindagi ma kahile, kahile” (This is how life unfolds sometimes).

“We worked together with great spirit but this time, things turned out like this. But we should work together in the future,” Dahal said.

Now the only parties supporting the Dahal government are the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which has four ministers, and Ashok Rai’s Janata Samajwadi Party with its two ministers.

On the other hand, the two largest parties—the Nepali Congress and the UML—have been urging Dahal to quit immediately and waste no time on a vote of confidence that he is almost certain to lose. After the withdrawal of support by a ruling party, as per the constitutional provision, the prime minister can go for a floor test.

“But in the Dahal case, even if he goes for a floor test, he cannot secure a majority,” a UML leader said, adding, “So we have advised him to quit.”

But a CPN (Maoist Centre) leader said that once the budget is endorsed by the upper house, the prime minister will make his decision. The upper house is likely to pass the budget on Thursday.

“We will sit on Thursday,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha said, adding, “We will decide whether to resign or face a floor test.”

Several Maoist leaders have also advised Dahal to resign so that his exit will be seen as graceful. But another ruling party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has decided to remain in government until the prime minister is removed.

Prime Minister Dahal, however, has expressed reluctance to resign immediately. The office-bearers’ meeting of the CPN (Maoist Centre) held in Baluwatar on Tuesday morning decided that the prime minister should not tender his resignation but instead face a vote of trust in Parliament.

As per the Congress-UML understanding to form a new government under Article 76 (2) of the constitution, the UML also asked the prime minister to resign by Wednesday evening.

Raghubir Mahaseth led the UML team in the government as deputy prime minister and minister for physical infrastructure and transport.

Likewise, Rajendra Rai was the minister for water supply; Bhagawati Chaudhary was the minister for women, children and senior citizens; Damodar Bhandari was the minister for industry commerce and supplies; and Jwala Kumari Sah was the minister for agriculture and livestock development. Similarly, Hari Uprety and Balaram Adhikari were minister for defence and minister for land management and cooperatives, respectively, and Padam Giri was minister for law, justice and parliamentary Affairs.

On Monday midnight, Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML chair Oli also agreed to form a high-powered constitution review committee to suggest amendments, bypassing key ruling partners like the Maoist Centre and the Rastriya Swatantra Party.

As per the understanding, Oli will lead a new ‘national consensus’ government for a year and a half. For the remaining term of Parliament, Deuba will be the prime minister. Both parties have also tentatively reached a power-sharing deal, including the division of ministerial portfolios, amendments to the constitution, review of the electoral system, including proportional representation, change of national assembly arrangements, and the size of provincial assemblies.

As per the draft understanding, the Congress will lead 10 ministries, including home, and the UML nine, including finance. Likewise, the Congress and the UML will lead three provincial governments each, with the government in Madhesh to be led by a regional party.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday formally endorsed the agreement reached with the UML on the formation of a new coalition.

A Central Work Execution Committee meeting of the party held at Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha endorsed the deal, according to Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat.

“The meeting also endorsed the agreement that states Oli would lead the government at first and Deuba would lead the election government in the second phase,” said Mahat.

The meeting also urged Prime Minister Dahal to step down and pave the way for the formation of a ‘national consensus government’.

“The meeting concludes that it would be appropriate for the prime minister to pave the way for the formation of a new national consensus government as, following the agreement between Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, a clear majority in the House of Representatives is in favour of forming the government under the leadership of KP Sharma Oli,” reads a statement issued after the meeting.

“The meeting expresses its commitment to implementing the agreement reached between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML regarding leading governments on a rotation basis to protect national interests, control corruption, ensure good governance, the development, maintain political stability, amending the constitution to strengthen the federal democratic republican system and inclusiveness and to strengthen the economy.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the UML had formally requested Prime Minister Dahal to tender his resignation by Wednesday evening.

The UML meeting further urged all political parties to help bring political stability by participating in the ‘national consensus’ government under the leadership of Oli.