Nepal's newly-elected Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (right) is sworn-in by the President Bidya Devi Bhandari (left) as outgoing prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba (second right) watches at the President's House in Kathmandu on Dec 26, 2022. (PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
KATHMANDU – Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal won a vote of confidence comfortably in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening, two weeks after he took office as the head of a new coalition government.
Dahal, also known as Prachanda, won the support of 268 lawmakers in the 275-strong lower house, much more than the 138 votes needed to pass the trust motion.
Lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the chamber which did not join the seven-party coalition, voted in favor of Prachanda as well
Lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the chamber which did not join the seven-party coalition, voted in favor of Prachanda as well.
"Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has won the vote of confidence by receiving 268 votes," announced Pashupati Shamsher Rana, who chaired the lower house session as the senior-most lawmaker.
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Prachanda, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center), took office on Dec 26, and he has to seek a vote of trust within 30 days under the constitution.
As he appealed for support in the lower house, Prachanda promised to work for good governance and take the country on the path of prosperity. "I am well aware that I don't have an excuse to make mistakes. I am here to deliver," he said.