With the crucial presidential election in Nepal just nine days away, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda will seek a vote of confidence and reshuffle his cabinet only after the election, a media report quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.
Prachanda is preparing to reshuffle his cabinet to fill 16 ministries that fell vacant after three political parties walked out of his government, as part of his efforts to keep together the newly formed, fragile coalition. The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported that government spokesperson Rekha Sharma said that Prachanda would seek a vote of confidence and reshuffle his cabinet only after the March 9 presidential election.
“Constitutional and legal provisions for obtaining the trust vote for the prime minister will be followed within a specified time frame,” Sharma said at the press conference. “But we are currently focused on the presidential election.” The cabinet reshuffle can be done only after the Election Commission issues the election code of conduct from Wednesday until March 19.
Nepal’s second-largest party in parliament, the CPN-UML, withdrew its support from a government led by “Prachanda” on Monday, following a rift over supporting the Nepali Congress candidate for the presidential election, leaving the Himalayan nation in political limbo. plunged into another period of instability.The Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has also left the government. The Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has also withdrawn its ministers from the government. However, it will continue to support the government from outside.
The ruling coalition of seven parties has disintegrated, with three major parties pulling out of the government. Prachanda has now joined hands with the Nepali Congress and six other parties and wants a new power-sharing deal at the earliest.
As per the constitutional provision, the Prime Minister is required to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days if a party withdraws its support from the government. Although some leaders had said that the alliance could discuss a smaller cabinet with one or two ministers from the allies, it would not be possible now because of the model code of conduct.
Communications and Information Technology Minister Sharma said the ruling coalition has yet to discuss the issue of cabinet expansion with the new alliance partners. “The cabinet reshuffle will happen only after finding out which parties are joining the government,” Sharma told.
On Monday, Prime Minister Prachanda cancelled his visit to Qatar in view of the impending presidential and vice presidential elections and pressure to seek a vote of confidence. The Election Commission has fixed the presidential election for March 9, while the election of the vice president will be held on March 17.
As per the constitutional provision, 332 electorates in the federal parliament and 550 electorates in the provincial assembly shall be constituted for both the elections. The UML has 79 MPs, while the CPN (Maoist Center) has 32 legislators in the 275-member House. The CPN (Unified Socialist Party) and the RSP have 10 and 20 members, respectively.
There are six members of the Janmat Party, four members of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, and three members of the Civil Immunity Party in Parliament. Prachanda needs 138 votes in Parliament to continue as Prime Minister.
Along with the three major parties, the NC (89), CPN-Maoist Center (32) and RSP (20), Prachanda has the support of at least 141 MPs. The UML will now act as the main opposition party.
