Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: It has emerged that the vote-division process on a vote of confidence proposal tabled by then Madhesh Province Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal was halted after some lawmakers had already voted against it.
The process was suspended on November 8 after 40 provincial assembly members cast their votes against Sonal’s motion.
Although Sonal has claimed that the vote-division process had not begun, documents obtained by Himal Press show that the process had indeed started, and 40 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML had voted against the motion.
The Provincial Assembly Secretariat on Friday sent an authenticated copy, bearing the signatures of provincial assembly members who voted against the motion, to the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.
“During the vote-division process on the vote of confidence sought by the then Chief Minister Jitendra Prasad Sonar (Sonal), opposition members signed in the signature column according to alphabetical order. After the Chief Minister from the ruling party tendered his resignation, the remaining process was suspended, and the Speaker adjourned the House until further notice. The certified copy of the vote related to the matter has been attached herewith,” reads the letter sent by Provincial Assembly Secretariat Secretary Homanath Pahadi to the Chief Minister’s Office.
Although several NC lawmakers, including Chief Whip Kumar Kanta Jha, signed against Sonal’s motion, some leaders, including parliamentary party leader Krishna Prasad Yadav, appear not to have signed.
During the discussion on the motion, Rahabr Ansari and Mala Karna of CPN (Maoist Center), a ruling coalition partner, said they would vote against the motion. Following this, Sonal and two ministers without portfolio walked out of the meeting hall. Since no representative of the government was present in the assembly hall, lawmakers from the ruling coalition raised objections under parliamentary rules, which prompted Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal to adjourn the meeting.
The meeting, initially suspended for 10 minutes, resumed nearly an hour later and Speaker Mandal initiated the vote-division process. Sonal arrived after some time and claimed that the Speaker had initiated voting even though no representative from the ruling side was present. He then announced his resignation in the middle of the voting process. Following this, Speaker Mandal announced another adjournment of the House until further notice.
Sonal formally submitted his resignation letter to then Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari the same evening.
The NC, which was in the opposition when Sonal sought the vote of confidence, has since switched sides and joined a seven-party alliance demanding the appointment of a new Chief Minister under Article 168(2) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015. The party changed its position after then Province Chief Bhandari appointed Saroj Yadav of the UML as Chief Minister under Article 168(3) as the leader of the largest party.
Arguing that a Chief Minister appointed under Article 168(3) is unconstitutional when the previous Chief Minister had already resigned before the vote-division process concluded, NC parliamentary party leader Krishna Prasad Yadav has filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on behalf of 74 lawmakers.
