Nepal PM Oli loses confidence vote

Kathmandu: Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Monday.

Oli got just 93 votes against the 136 votes needed to win the vote of confidence in the House which has 271 members at present, local media reported.

Lawmakers from the Madhav Nepal-Jhala Nath Khanal faction of Oli’s party, CPN-UM abstained.

The Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), which control 61 and 49 votes, respectively, voted against Oli’s trust motion.

The Janata Samajbadi Party, which has 32 votes, however, was divided. The Mahantha Thakur-led faction stayed neutral while the Upendra Yadav-led group voted against Oli.

“As the votes cast in favour of the motion fell short to achieve a majority of the existing strength of the House of Representatives, I hereby declare that the prime minister’s motion to seek a vote of confidence has been rejected,” said Speaker Agni Sapkota, reports Kathmandu post.

The next meeting of the House has been scheduled for Thursday. (UNI)