PM Oli to seek vote of confidence today, likely to get a two-thirds majority votes

KATHMANDU, July 21: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is going to take a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Sunday.

Oli, who was appointed as the Prime Minister according to the Article 76 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, a week ago, has a period of one month to take the vote of confidence according to Article 76 (4). But Prime Minister Oli decided to seek the trust vote in the parliament within a week of his appointment.

Although a total of 194 votes were cast against former prime minister Puspa Kamal Dahal when he sought a vote of confidence in the 275-member House of Representatives (HoR) last Friday, the possibility of PM Oli getting the votes of all MPs who voted against Dahal is now gradually decreasing.

The parties that had voted against Dahal, including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal and independent lawmakers have decided to vote against PM Oli.

Currently, PM Oli is supported by NC, his own party, CPN-UML, Janata Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), Rastriya Janamorcha Party, Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) and an independent lawmaker.

In the parties that have decided to give a vote of confidence to PM Oli, there are 189 MPs altogether, including 88 from the NC, 78 from the UML, seven from the JSP, six from Janamat Party, four from Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, four from the NUP, one from Rastriya Janamorcha Party, and one independent MP, Amresh Kumar Singh.

It is to be noted that the suspended lawmaker Top Bahadur Rayamajhi from the UML and the Speaker Devraj Ghimire are not allowed to vote.

And, 14 MPs from the RPP, five from the JSP Nepal, 32 from the CPN (Maoist Center), 21 from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), 10 from the CPN (Unified Socialist), and one from Aam Janata Party, totaling 84 votes, are set to vote against Oli.

Oli must get the support of 184 MPs out of 275 in order to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament. The government, formed with the aim of amending the constitution, is likely to achieve this majority.

However, if even one fringe party decides not to give a vote of confidence, the government will not be able to secure a two-thirds majority. As things stand now, Oli will likely get 189 votes in his favor and 84 against him- altogether 273 votes.

If the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party stays neutral, the total maximum vote count will reach 272 votes.