Kathmandu, July 21 (Agency)Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday won the vote of confidence – receiving the support of two-thirds of MPs — in the House of Representatives. Oli received 188 votes in the 275-member parliament. A total of 74 lawmakers voted against him, while one member abstained. A total of 263 lawmakers were present in the House today.The prime minister required at least 138 votes to win the trust motion. “I declare that the motion of the vote of confidence tabled by Prime Minister Oli has been endorsed with a majority,” said Speaker Devraj Ghimire. The Nepali Congress of former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba, Oli’s CPN-UML, Janata Samajwadi Party, Janamat Party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Nagarik Unmukti Party and some independent MPs voted in favor of Prime Minister Oli. In the parliament, Nepali Congress has 88 members, CPN-UML has 79 members. The CPN-MC of former PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the House’s third-largest party, has only 32 seats, the RSP has 21 members, while CPN (US) has 10 members. Oli was appointed prime minister as per Article 76(2) of the constitution, and a prime minister thus appointed must take a vote of confidence within 30 days.
He was appointed prime minister by President Ramchandra Paudel on July 15 based on the signatures collected from 166 lawmakers. Earlier while tabling the motion, Oli made public the contents of the seven-point agreement reached between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML earlier this month.Prime Minister Oli said that the agreement between the Nepali Congress and UML, the two largest parties, was part of their efforts to address the country’s pressing issues. In today’s trust motion, RSP and CPN (US) had issued whip to its Members of Parliament to vote against the trust motion. Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have agreed to form a new power alliance and establish a new national consensus government, wherein the two parties would take turns leading the government.