In a surprising political shift, Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxism–Leninism) (CPN-UML) reached an agreement to form a new coalition government.
This agreement was made between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML President KP Sharma OliOli will become the prime minister for the next one and a half years, after which Deuba will become the prime minister for the remaining term until the next election. This development will lead to the collapse of the government formed on March 4 under the leadership of Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and its formal announcement is expected soon.
Under the overnight agreement, KP Sharma Oli has been allowed to lead the government initially, while Deuba will take over after one and a half years. The agreement was formally announced on Friday. New alliance The government is expected to be formed soon. A senior Nepali Congress leader present at the meeting told news agency ANI, “An agreement has been signed overnight between Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML President KP Sharma Oli to form a new government. According to this, Oli will lead the government for the next one and a half years and Deuba will lead the rest of the time till the elections, which are to be held after three years.”
The two parties also agreed on the division of ministries. According to a UML leader, the party leading the government will not get the Home Ministry. Apart from the central government, the two parties also agreed on the distribution of leadership in various provinces. The CPN-UML will lead the governments in Koshi, Lumbini and Karnali provinces, while the Congress will lead the Bagmati, Gandaki and Far-Western provinces. Madhesi-based parties will lead the government in Madhesi province. The UML leader confirmed, “There has been a consensus on the party leading the government not getting the Home Ministry. Apart from the central government, the CPN-UML will form the government in Koshi, Lumbini and Karnali provinces, while the Congress will lead the Bagmati, Gandaki and Far-Western provinces. There has been a consensus between the two leaders that the Madhesi-based parties will lead the government in Madhesi province.”
Additionally, the new coalition has set up a committee to suggest amendments to election procedures and the constitution. The committee is headed by former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha. The largest and second-largest parties in parliament have also drafted a constitutional amendment agreement, which states that the vice president will be made the president of the National Assembly.
Before the signing, the Congress and UML leaders informed President Ram Chandra Paudel about the changes in the alliance. During their meeting, the leaders told the President about activating Section 76 (2) so that a new government can be formed if incumbent Prime Minister Prachanda fails to win a vote of confidence after the UML withdraws support.
Prachanda, who came to power after the 2022 general elections and has proved majority in Parliament four times, will now have to win the trust vote again. There was no immediate reaction from the Prachanda-led Maoist Center regarding the change in alliance. However, during Monday’s cabinet meeting, Dahal assured the ministers that the existing alliance will remain intact.
“The reports in the media are mere rumours. We are still in talks with our coalition partners,” Communications and Information Technology Minister Rekha Sharma quoted Dahal as saying. “The prime minister briefed us about the internal situation and dismissed external rumours. There are concerns about what will happen to this government, but there will be no change. Some people want this coalition to be short-lived, but we are determined to keep this government stable for a long time,” she said.
Earlier on March 4, Prachanda revived the alliance with the CPN-UML, surprising the largest coalition partner Nepali Congress. A new alliance was initially formed, including the CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Centre, Rashtriya Swatantra Party and Janata Samajwadi Party. However, the Nepali Congress formally withdrew its support the next day, activating Article 100 subsection (2). According to this article, a prime minister needs to secure a threshold of 50 per cent, which is 138 votes according to the current number of MPs.
As a result of the coalition breakdown, the Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal also quit the government and joined the opposition. Pushpa Kamal Dahal came to power in December 2022 by forging an alliance with arch-rival CPN-UML, having earlier allied with the Nepali Congress for the November 2022 election.
Dahal received widespread support in the confidence vote on January 10, 2023, with 268 out of 270 MPs voting in his favour, the highest percentage in the known history of the Nepali Parliament since the inception of democracy. However, within three months, Dahal again allied himself with the Nepali Congress, and won a majority in the confidence vote on March 20, 2023. In this second vote, Dahal received 172 votes out of the 262 MPs present, while 89 voted against him, while one abstained.
This agreement was made between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML President KP Sharma OliOli will become the prime minister for the next one and a half years, after which Deuba will become the prime minister for the remaining term until the next election. This development will lead to the collapse of the government formed on March 4 under the leadership of Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and its formal announcement is expected soon.
Under the overnight agreement, KP Sharma Oli has been allowed to lead the government initially, while Deuba will take over after one and a half years. The agreement was formally announced on Friday. New alliance The government is expected to be formed soon. A senior Nepali Congress leader present at the meeting told news agency ANI, “An agreement has been signed overnight between Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML President KP Sharma Oli to form a new government. According to this, Oli will lead the government for the next one and a half years and Deuba will lead the rest of the time till the elections, which are to be held after three years.”
The two parties also agreed on the division of ministries. According to a UML leader, the party leading the government will not get the Home Ministry. Apart from the central government, the two parties also agreed on the distribution of leadership in various provinces. The CPN-UML will lead the governments in Koshi, Lumbini and Karnali provinces, while the Congress will lead the Bagmati, Gandaki and Far-Western provinces. Madhesi-based parties will lead the government in Madhesi province. The UML leader confirmed, “There has been a consensus on the party leading the government not getting the Home Ministry. Apart from the central government, the CPN-UML will form the government in Koshi, Lumbini and Karnali provinces, while the Congress will lead the Bagmati, Gandaki and Far-Western provinces. There has been a consensus between the two leaders that the Madhesi-based parties will lead the government in Madhesi province.”
Additionally, the new coalition has set up a committee to suggest amendments to election procedures and the constitution. The committee is headed by former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha. The largest and second-largest parties in parliament have also drafted a constitutional amendment agreement, which states that the vice president will be made the president of the National Assembly.
Before the signing, the Congress and UML leaders informed President Ram Chandra Paudel about the changes in the alliance. During their meeting, the leaders told the President about activating Section 76 (2) so that a new government can be formed if incumbent Prime Minister Prachanda fails to win a vote of confidence after the UML withdraws support.
Prachanda, who came to power after the 2022 general elections and has proved majority in Parliament four times, will now have to win the trust vote again. There was no immediate reaction from the Prachanda-led Maoist Center regarding the change in alliance. However, during Monday’s cabinet meeting, Dahal assured the ministers that the existing alliance will remain intact.
“The reports in the media are mere rumours. We are still in talks with our coalition partners,” Communications and Information Technology Minister Rekha Sharma quoted Dahal as saying. “The prime minister briefed us about the internal situation and dismissed external rumours. There are concerns about what will happen to this government, but there will be no change. Some people want this coalition to be short-lived, but we are determined to keep this government stable for a long time,” she said.
Earlier on March 4, Prachanda revived the alliance with the CPN-UML, surprising the largest coalition partner Nepali Congress. A new alliance was initially formed, including the CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Centre, Rashtriya Swatantra Party and Janata Samajwadi Party. However, the Nepali Congress formally withdrew its support the next day, activating Article 100 subsection (2). According to this article, a prime minister needs to secure a threshold of 50 per cent, which is 138 votes according to the current number of MPs.
As a result of the coalition breakdown, the Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal also quit the government and joined the opposition. Pushpa Kamal Dahal came to power in December 2022 by forging an alliance with arch-rival CPN-UML, having earlier allied with the Nepali Congress for the November 2022 election.
Dahal received widespread support in the confidence vote on January 10, 2023, with 268 out of 270 MPs voting in his favour, the highest percentage in the known history of the Nepali Parliament since the inception of democracy. However, within three months, Dahal again allied himself with the Nepali Congress, and won a majority in the confidence vote on March 20, 2023. In this second vote, Dahal received 172 votes out of the 262 MPs present, while 89 voted against him, while one abstained.
