Gandaki Chief Minister “passes floor test”

POKHARA: Gandaki Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital on Sunday declared that Chief Minister Khagraj Adhikari has secured a vote of confidence with the support of 30 members.

Thirty province assembly members – 22 of CPN-UML, seven of CPN (Maoist Center) and one independent member – voted in favor of the vote of confidence motion tabled by Chief Minister Adhikari. Twenty-seven members of the Nepali Congress voted against the motion, while , Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which has two members, remained neutral.

The previous four chief ministers of the province had secured a vote of confidence with the support of 31 assembly members in the 60-member province assembly.

Speaker Dhital declared that Adhikari has passed the floor test with the support of 30 members, interpreting a recent Supreme Court order.

Earlier, the Supreme Court, responding to a petition filed by former Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey against the formation of new government under Adhikari, ruled that the majority should be counted based on the total seats, excluding the Speaker.

Citing the order, ruling coalition leaders have been insisting that the Chief Minister needs 30 members to pass the floor test. The opposition has been claiming that the majority should be counted on the basis of total seats i.e. 60.