KATHMANDU, Feb 16: As Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has to win a vote of confidence from parliament within a month of his appointment to the post, the first cabinet meeting of his government is expected to recommend to the president to summon the first session of the new parliament.
The constitution has a mandatory provision for a prime minister appointed with the support of two or more political parties to win a vote of confidence from parliament within a month of his or her appointment. Oli had submitted the decision of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) claiming his appointment as prime minister, in line with Article 76 Clause 2 of the constitution.
“Prime Minister Oli himself will soon table a motion in parliament in a bid to win a vote of confidence ,” said influential UML leader Agni Kharel. According to this mandatory provision, Oli must win the confidence vote by March 15.
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“As there are multiple factors for summoning the House immediately, the first meeting of the cabinet could take a decision to that effect,” said Kharel.
Also, the Election of President and Vice President Act has a mandatory provision for electing the new president for a first time within a month after the formation of parliament and the provincial assemblies. The Election Commission submitted the final results of the House of Representatives elections to President Bidya Bhandari on Wednesday.
Likewise, according to the same law, the election of the new vice president should be announced within a week after the election of the new president. Altogether 334 members of parliament and the 550 members of the seven provincial assemblies will vote to elect the new president and vice president.
The first meeting of the House of Representatives will endorse the interim working procedures of parliament and initiate the process of securing a vote of confidence for the new prime minister.
Meanwhile, the parliament secretariat has renovated the parliament hall for the meetings of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly . The new parliament will have 275 members in the lower house and 59 in the upper house.
“We have nearly completed renovations at the parliament hall for both the lower and upper houses. It is expected to be ready within a few days,” said Bharat Gautam, spokesperson at the parliament secretariat.
The parliament hall had arrangements for 601 members as the previous legislature had more than twice as many lawmakers as the present parliament.