Nepal PM Oli quits just before no-confidence vote

Oli, 64, was forced to quit after allies of his multi-party coalition deserted the government accusing him of not honouring power sharing deals that helped install him as prime minister in October.

“I have already submitted my resignation to the President when I met her before coming to the house,” said Oli in a speech in parliament just ahead of the scheduled no-confidence vote.

“We brought the motion against the Prime Minister as he did nothing to fulfil agreements and work towards forging national unity and consensus,” CPN-MC chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda had said earlier.

The Maoist leader accused Oli of being self-centred and egocentric and said a new government was needed to address demands of Madhesis and other minority groups and also to implement the constitution. Prachanda, who had become Prime Minister in 2008 after the end of the civil war, is expected to return to the same post after a gap of nine years.

As per a deal between CPN-MC and NC, Prachanda will head the government for nine months and will be succeeded by NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba till the next general elections.

Senior NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi said his party decided to remove the government as Oli wasn’t serious about addressing the demands of Madhes-based parties.

Parties from the Madhes region bordering India have been demanding changes including fresh demarcation of state boundaries in the new constitution. In recent months, other smaller groups have also joined hands.