Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli Seeks Two-Third Majority in Parliament
Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is aiming for a two-third majority in parliament as he prepares for a vote of confidence today. Oli, who was appointed in mid-July, will present the trust motion at 1 pm local time.
Oli’s party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninists (CPN-UML), has 78 seats. His main ally, the Nepali Congress, has 88 seats. Other supporting parties include the Janata Samajbadi Party with 7 seats and the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party with 4 seats. Additionally, Oli is expected to secure votes from the Janata Samajbadi Party (5 seats), the Janamat Party (6 seats), and the Nagarik Unmukti Party (4 seats). This gives a combined strength of 192 seats, surpassing the required 183 seats for a two-thirds majority in the 275-seat parliament.
Mahesh Bartaula, the chief whip of CPN-UML, stated, “All the lawmakers have been mandated to participate in today’s vote of confidence. We have issued whips to all our party lawmakers in the lower house to vote in support of the Prime Minister as well as the Party Chair, KP Sharma Oli.”
Oli returned to power after making a deal with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba on July 2. The deal, which is not yet public, states that Oli will remain in power for two years before handing over to Deuba.
However, some parties have decided to vote against Oli. These include the CPN-Maoist Centre (32 seats), the CPN-Unified Socialist Party (10 seats), the Rastriya Swatantra Party (21 seats), and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) with 14 seats. Rajendra Prasad Lingden, Chairman of RPP, said, “We can work on the constitution amendment but we won’t be voting in favor of the trust motion in parliament.”
Doubts Revealed
KP Sharma Oli -: KP Sharma Oli is the Prime Minister of Nepal, a country that is our neighbor to the north of India.
Two-Third Majority -: A two-third majority means that more than two-thirds of the members in the parliament support a decision or a person. In this case, it means more than 183 out of 275 members.
Parliament -: Parliament is a place where elected representatives meet to make laws and discuss important issues. It’s like a big meeting room for the government.
Vote of Confidence -: A vote of confidence is when members of parliament vote to show if they support the Prime Minister or not. If he gets enough votes, he can continue to be the Prime Minister.
CPN-UML -: CPN-UML stands for Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist). It is one of the major political parties in Nepal.
Nepali Congress -: Nepali Congress is another major political party in Nepal. It is different from the CPN-UML and has its own ideas and leaders.
Janata Samajbadi Party -: Janata Samajbadi Party is a political party in Nepal that represents the interests of various communities and regions within the country.
CPN-Maoist Centre -: CPN-Maoist Centre is another political party in Nepal. They have different ideas from the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party -: Rastriya Prajatantra Party is a political party in Nepal that supports the idea of a monarchy and traditional values.
