Surendra Raj Pandey secures vote of confidence

KATHMANDU: Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey of Gandaki State has received a vote of confidence. In a meeting held on Monday, Chief Minister Pandey secured a confidence vote with 31 in favor.

He received support from 27 members of his own party, the Nepali Congress, 2 from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), independent lawmaker Rajiv Gurung (Deepak Manange), and NSP’s Phanindra Devkota, who was elected from the Maoist Center’s election symbol.

Similarly, 22 lawmakers from the opposition, the CPN-UML, and 6 from the Maoist Centre voted against him.

With a total of 28 votes against him in the 60-member State Assembly, a majority of 31 votes was necessary for confidence.

This is Chief Minister Pandey’s second term.

Previously, he led the government in Gandaki for 11 months. However, due to changes in the federal political landscape, he resigned.

Subsequently, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML was appointed as the Chief Minister by securing a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly, but faced legal challenges as the speaker also supported the motion.

The Supreme Court deemed Oli’s confidence vote illegal, leading to a directive to appoint Pandey as Chief Minister.

According to the Supreme Court’s order, Pandey was appointed as the Chief Minister of Gandaki on May 29.