16 Years, 13 Govts: Oli Set To Become Nepal's PM Once Again After Prachanda's Trust Vote Loss

KP Sharma Oli is once again set to become Nepal's Prime Minister after incumbent PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' lost the trust vote in the Parliament on Friday, adding another event to the frequent political turmoil in the nation.

Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman Oli staked claim to form a new majority government hours after Prachanda's loss, presenting his claim before President Ramchandra Paudel with the support of 165 lawmakers, including 77 from his own party and 88 from the Nepali Congress.

Though other parties including the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), JSP-Nepal Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party are in favour of the Congress-UML coalition government, Oli -- while staking claim -- showed the support of only UML and Congress.

Congress chief whip Ramesh Lekhak said, "We have staked a claim for the new government before the President. Now, it's up to him to decide when to make the appointment."

The Prime Minister and the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC), Prachanda, had to face the trust vote because the Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew support from his government last week after inking a power-sharing deal with the largest party in the house, which the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led Nepali Congress.

The 69-year-old PM lost his position on Friday, more than 18 months after his appointment as he failed to secure majority during a floor test in the House of Representatives.

Of the required 138 votes, Prachanda managed to secure only 63 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives. As many 194 lawmakers voted against him.

This was Prachanda's fifth time facing a trust vote since his appointment as Prime Minister 18 months ago. During the first floor test on January 10, 2023, he had secured a massive majority of 268 votes.

Then in the second trust vote in March 2023, he secured only 172 votes as the UML-Maoist alliance was broken. The third floor test took place in March this year, wherein after forming a new alliance with the UML, Prachanda secured 157 votes.

However, after the JSP split, in his fourth vote of confidence in May 2024, Prachanda secured just 157 votes with no opposition votes registered.

However, his failure in the fifth trust vote has paved the way for Oli to become the Prime Minister again.

Notably, Oli is famous for his pro-Beijing stance and it would be a sight to behold as to see how he will maintain relations with both India and China.

India and Nepal have had a strained relationship ever since 2020 after Kathmandu published a new political map showing three Indian territories -- Limpiyadura, Kalapani and Lipulekh -- as part of Nepal. The then prime minister, Oli, had tried to use the issue to fend off increasing domestic pressure and challenge to his leadership.

“President Paudel called on members of the House of Representatives (HoR) to stake a claim for the post of prime minister showing a majority with the support of two or more political parties in the lower house,” a statement from the Office of Paudel said.

He had called on the House members to present a majority through support of parties that area represented in the lower house by Sunday 5 pm.

The combined seat strength of Nepali Congress (89) and CPN-UML (78) in the HoR is 167, much higher than the needed mark of 138 votes.

The Nepali Congress chief has already endorsed Oli as the next prime minister in accordance to the seven-part deal both their parties agreed upon before toppling Prachanda's government.

According to the agreement, Oli and Deuba will share the premiership during the remaining period of the HoR, where Oli will become the prime minister for one and a half years in the first half and Debua will take over the post for the rest of the period.

In the last 16 years, Nepal has had 13 governments, indicating the sensitive nature of the nation's political system.

(With PTI inputs)