KATHMANDU, JUNE 30
The Koshi province government led by the CPN-UML and Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki has failed to pass the floor test.
Only 40 CPN-UML MPs and six Rastriya Prajatantra Party MPs supported the vote of confidence proposed by Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki in the Province Assembly meeting today. With this, Karki has lost his chief minister's post. Koshi Provincie Assembly has 93 members and 47 MPs' votes are required for majority.
In the meeting attended by 89 MPs today, 43 votes were cast against Karki.
After Chief Minister Karki did not get vote of confidence in the provincel assembly, a perplexing situation has arisen with regard to the formation of a new government in the province.
After the Province Assembly elections held in November, the CPN-UML formed the government under its leadership in four provinces, including Koshi. With this loss CPN- UML has been overthrown from all four provinces.
Earlier, UML-led governments have been overthrown in Sudurpaschim, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces.
In Koshi province, where the chief minister changed three times during the previous Province Assembly's tenure, the new province government that was formed this time also lost the vote of confidence in the first six months. Province head Parashuram Khapung, on January 8, had appointed Karki as chief minister of the province as per Article 168 (2) of the constitution after he laid claim to the post with the support of 60 members.
Chief Minister Karki was backed by the CPN-Maoist Centre, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, apart from his party CPN-UML.
Earlier, the Maoist Centre and Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, which were in the ruling coalition, withdrew support to the government and to Chief Minister Karki.
The changed equation at the centre has been blamed for the UML government's loss of majority in Koshi province.
After the Maoists sided with the Congress during the presidential election in February, the CPN-UML and the RPP left the Dahal-led government. After the UML-Maoist alliance collapsed, the Congress-Maoist alliance was formed in the provinces, including the central government.
However, considering that parties other than UML and RPP do not have majority in this province, the CPN-MC and JSP-N, which were allied with the opposition camp of UML at the centre, maintained their support to the government for a long time.
Koshi UML Parliamentary Party leader Karki was appointed chief minister in the fourth week of December with the support of the Maoist Centre, RPP and JSP-N.
Yesterday, when Karki proposed a vote of confidence, the Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN (Unified Socialists) announced that they could not support the government in the Province Assembly meeting.
Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, which has one MP, decided to remain neutral.
After being in the minority, Chief Minister Karki brought the budget for the coming year through an ordinance on 15 June after ending the budget session. There are 40 members of Parliament including the deputy speaker of UML and six MPs of RPP in Koshi Province Assembly.
The opposition alliance has 47 MPs, including 29 from the Nepali Congress, 13 from the Maoist Centre, four from the CPN (Unified Socialist) and one from Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal.
The Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, a component of the opposition coalition, expressed its dissatisfaction with the naming of the province and decided to stay neutral without expressing any vote for or against the UML.
The opposition coalition has been claiming that the majority of 47 people, including the speaker, are in their favour.
But the UML has been arguing that the speaker can cast the deciding vote only when the votes are tied during the division of votes.
Both the Congress-led coalition and the UML-RPP alliance have 46 seats each, adding to the difficulty of forming a stable government. It further complicates the situation because UML is the largest party in Koshi.
In the 93-member Province Assembly, the UML has 40 MPs, the Congress 29, the Maoist Centre 13 including the speaker, the RPP has 6, the CPN (US) 4, and the JSP-N has one seat.
It is said that there is a debate within the opposition coalition about proving majority in their favour by having the speaker resign if necessary.
Some experts say that there is possibility that Koshi may be pushed towards mid-term elections.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 01, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
