Nepal President calls on parties to stake claim to form govt after PM Oli loses vote of confidence

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Monday called on all parties to stake a claim to form a majority government after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a vote of confidence in the Parliament.

"She has asked party leaders to come forward with the name of the candidate for the post of Prime Minister by 9 pm, Thursday," read a statement by Nepali Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a vote of confidence in the Parliament as he could only garner just 93 votes way less than 136 that he needed to prove the House's majority.

As many as 124 votes were cast against him and 15 lawmakers stated neutral. In the 271-strong House, only 232 lawmakers were present during Monday's voting.

Following the vote of confidence, the Opposition urged President to initiate a process to form a new government.

Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and a faction of the Janata Samajwadi party led by Upendra Yadav have urged the country's President Bidya Devi Bhandari to invoke Article 76 (2).

The article says in a case where no party has a clear majority in the House of Representatives, the President shall appoint as the prime minister a member of the House of Representatives who can command majority with the support of two or more parties in the House of Representatives, The Kathmandu Post reported.

( With inputs from ANI )