KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal secured a vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday, marking his third term in just over a year to lead a government mostly comprised of liberal communists.
Mr. Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla leader in the Himalayan nation nestled between China and India, formed a coalition cabinet, including the Nepali Congress party and other minor factions, last year. However, he recently changed allies, citing constraints on his authority within the previous coalition.
The newly formed cabinet is mostly led by the liberal Nepal Communist Party (UML), with the inclusion of several smaller groups. Notably, Mr. Dahal had previously helmed a coalition with the UML briefly following the 2022 elections.
Nepal PM Faces Vote of Confidence
Parliament Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire announced that Dahal secured 157 votes in favor, surpassing the required threshold of 138 in the 275-member parliament, while 110 lawmakers voted against him.
Addressing the parliament following the vote, Mr. Dahal expressed his disappointment, stating, “I was let down several times… and was forced to form a new coalition cabinet, which is just a regular political process,” alluding to the Nepali Congress, now the principal opposition party.
The Nepali Congress criticized the prime minister for abruptly excluding them from the cabinet without prior notification, following the recent coalition breakup. Mr. Dahal now serves his third term as prime minister. However, he has yet to complete a full five-year term during his previous tenures.
