Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Ruling Nepali Congress led by PM Deuba gains majority in general polls

The ruling Nepali Congress led by PM Sher Bahadur Deuba has emerged as the single largest party in the parliamentary polls.

India Today Web Desk
New Delhi,UPDATED: Nov 28, 2022 

Supporters of Nepali Congress Party cheer for their party. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk

The ruling Nepali Congress led by PM Sher Bahadur Deuba has emerged as the single largest party by winning 53 seats in the parliamentary polls held to end the prolonged political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation.

Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on November 20. The counting of votes started on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML) secured 42 seats in the elections. The CPN-Maoist has emerged as the third largest party with 17 seats while the CPN-Unified Socialist has bagged 10 seats.

ALSO READ | Nepal’s top political leaders explore ways to form government amid vote count

The newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party have won 7 seats each. Independent and other smaller parties have emerged victorious on 21 seats. Out of the total 165 seats under direct voting, the results for 8 seats are still awaited.

The ruling five-party alliance has won 85 seats, against 55 seats won by the alliance led by CPN-UML. The ruling alliance includes the Nepali Congress led by Prime Minister Deuba, CPN-Maoist led by Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda, CPN-Unified Socialist headed by Madhav Nepal, Mahantha Thakur’s Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janamorcha led by Chitra Bahadur.

This comes a day after Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda held a meeting on Saturday and they agreed to continue their ruling five-party alliance as part of a new majority government in the country.

The vote count under the proportional representation to the elections of the House of Representatives and the province assemblies is ongoing. Out of over 17.9 million registered voters, the voter turnout was 61 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).

So far, approximately 80 per cent of the votes was counted, The Himalayan Times newspaper quoted EC's Spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Paudel as saying.

ALSO READ | Nepal polls: Ruling alliance heading towards majority; NC emerging as largest party

Approximately 2.4 million votes remain to count.

Under the proportionate voting method, the CPN-UML got the first position, securing more than 2.5 million votes and the Nepali Congress received 2.3 million votes. The CPN-Maoist and RSP have secured one million each.

In the 275-member House of Representatives, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system. A party or a coalition needs 138 seats for a clear majority.

(With PTI input)

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