KATHMANDU, MARCH 1
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will have to seek vote of confidence after the presidential election scheduled for March 9 as today's meeting of the House of Representatives was postponed till March 19.
Spokesperson for the Parliament Secretariat Ekram Giri told THT that the House meeting was postponed till March 19 keeping in mind the Holi festival, Speaker Devraj Ghimire's participation in the IPU meeting in Bahrain, election for president and vice-president on March 9 and March 17 respectively.
Speaker Ghimire will embark for the IPU meeting on March 10 and return to Kathmandu after four or five days.
A source at the Parliament Secretariat said today's HoR meeting might have been postponed keeping in mind the political parties' preparation for presidential elections.
CPN-Maoist Centre Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey told THT that the PM would take vote of confidence only after presidential election as parties were too busy with preparation for the election. He said the PM would expand his Cabinet before seeking vote of confidence.
The PM faces the challenge of giving all the parties in the coalition - the Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre, Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party-Nepal, Janamat Party, and Nagarik Unmukti Party - a win-win deal in the Cabinet. The constitution bars the PM from inducting more than 25 ministers in the Cabinet, including himself.
The PM is preparing to expand his cabinet and seek vote of confidence only after the election of president and vice-president because he does not want any disenchantment among coalition partners to adversely affect the coalition partners' common candidate for president Ramchandra Paudel.
As per Article 100 (2) of the constitution, the PM is required to seek vote of confidence within 30 days from the day a coalition partner withdraws support to the government.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the CPN-UML, the two coalition partners of the previous seven-party alliance withdrew support to the government after the PM formed the eight-party alliance including the Nepali Congress with the agreement that they would support the NC candidate for president Ramchandra Paudel.
RPP withdrew support to the government on February 25, and the UML on February 27.
Paudel's rival in the presidential election is the CPN-UML candidate Subas Chandra Nembang. Both Paudel and Nembang are busy soliciting votes.
Meanwhile, the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led CPN (Unified Socialist) has decided to back NC candidate Paudel for president.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
