Nepal’s new PM, Dahal secures vote of confidence in parliament

Nepal’s Kathmandu — On Tuesday, the seven-party coalition that put him in power and the opposition in parliament gave him a clear vote of confidence.

Tuesday, 268 of the 270 people in the Chamber of Representatives, which is the lower house of parliament, voted for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Speaker of the House Pashupati Rana said that Dahal has the support of a majority of lawmakers, which he needs to win the vote of confidence.

Dahal Had Opposition Support

Dahal got the opposition Nepali Congress party to vote for him. This was a former coalition partner and is now the largest political party. Before the election, he engaged in long negotiations with opposition party leaders.

Dahal, who has appointed only three deputies and four cabinet ministers since taking office, is anticipated to expand his cabinet to include more members of the coalition’s seven parties.

It is Dahal’s third term in leadership since his Maoist party ended a decade-long violent rebellion in which over 17,000 people were slain in 2006 and joined mainstream politics.

Dahal Brought Together Various Political Groups

In addition to bringing together various political groups, Dahal must struggle to recover the country’s pandemic-ravaged economy and balance relations with its big neighbors, China and India, all of which vie for influence in Nepal.

The Maoists joined a U.N.-assisted peace process after abandoning their armed insurrection in 2006. In 2008, they won the most parliamentary seats, and Dahal, known as Prachanda or “the fierce one,” became prime minister. A year later, he quit because he didn’t agree with the president.

SOURCE – (AP)