Kathmandu, August 17
Lumbini Province Chief Minister Chet Narayan Acharya has received a vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly.
At Monday’s session of the Provincial Assembly, the confidence motion tabled by Chief Minister Acharya passed with 45 votes in favour and 26 against. To prove a majority, the government needed 42 votes in the 83-member Provincial Assembly.
Of the assembly’s 83 members, 71 lawmakers took part in the voting process. Chief Minister Acharya received votes of confidence from CPN-UML, the Nepal Communist Party, Rastriya Janamorcha, and Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal.
Since the 45 votes in favour constituted a majority, Speaker Tularam Ghartimagar declared that Chief Minister Acharya had received the vote of confidence.
Acharya received 29 votes from UML, 11 of 12 from the Nepal Communist Party, 4 of 5 from JSP Nepal, and 1 from Janamorcha.
Eight lawmakers were absent from the session, while 3 remained neutral. Among the ruling coalition, one NCP lawmaker was abroad and therefore absent, while JSP Nepal’s Ambika Kafle was also absent. According to the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, those absent from the session were Anurag Khadka, Ambika Kafle, Ashish Kumar Chaudhary, Khadga Basnet, Dhana Laxmi Shrestha, Nirmala Devi Tharu, Maya Pun, and Saroj Thapa.
In the Provincial Assembly, UML and the Nepal Communist Party, along with JSP Nepal and Rastriya Janamorcha Party, form the ruling coalition, while Congress and Janamat stand in opposition. RPP has remained neutral.
Although JSP Nepal’s central leadership had directed the party to withdraw from the government, the party’s parliamentary group in the province decided instead to support the government, helping preserve the UML-led administration.
If JSP Nepal’s four lawmakers had withheld their votes, Chief Minister Acharya would certainly have failed to secure a majority.
