Himal Press 
Chief Minister of Koshi Province Kedar Karki (File PHoto)
ITAHARI: Koshi Province Chief Minister Kedar Karki has secured the vote of confidence of Koshi Province Assembly.
Out of 91 assembly members present on the day, 86 supported the confidence motion tabled by Karki, while five voted against the motion. All the political parties except Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) gave their confidence vote to Kedar Karki of Nepali Congress.
Karki was elected to the post on Saturday in accordance with Article 168(5) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015. He belongs to the anti-establishment faction of NC led by Dr. Shekhar Koirala.
Eight lawmakers close to Dr. Koirala nominated Karki for the position of Chief Minister with the support of UML after NC decided to back Indra Angbo of CPN (Maoist Center) for the role.
Four parties from the ruling coalition – Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) – as well as CPN-UML, expressed their confidence in Karki on Tuesday.
UML’s parliamentary party leader and former chief minister, Hikmat Kumar Karki, stated that they were compelled to form a government with the support of two or more parties since no party holds a majority in the provincial assembly. “Given our electoral system, it is difficult to secure a majority in our provincial assembly,” he added. Karki also mentioned that UML had attempted to form a consensus government earlier, but their proposal was rejected by NC and the Maoist Center.
Former Chief Minister and Nepali Congress provincial assembly member, Uddhab Thapa, remarked that the musical chair for the chief minister has come to an end with Karki’s appointment as the chief minister. “Other provinces have already passed their fiscal budget, but we are issuing an ordinance to authorize provincial government expenses,” he said.
Similarly, the former chief minister and parliamentary leader of the Unified Socialist Party said his party expressed confidence in Karki to prevent mid-term polls.
Durga Prasad Chapagain, a Maoist Center provincial assembly member, stated that his party had made a significant sacrifice and warned the new chief minister not to take everything for granted. “We relinquished the post of Speaker to save this coalition,” he said, adding, “We have expressed confidence in Karki as per the decision of the ruling coalition. But we will remain in the opposition.”
Nirmala Limbu of JSP mentioned that her party expressed confidence in Karki as per the decision of the ruling coalition.
Bhakti Prasad Sitaula of RPP, however, stated that his party decided to stay in the opposition. “We have chosen not to express confidence in Chief Minister Karki and to remain in the opposition, as all other parties will be in the ruling coalition in the province,” he added.
