Nepal’s ruling coalition leads parliamentary elections

The election to the House of Representatives and the seven regional assemblies of this Himalayan country was voted in a week ago.

Of the 275 members of the legislature, a total of 165 seats are chosen through direct vote, while the remaining 110 seats are chosen through a proportional electoral system.

A party or coalition needs at least 138 seats to achieve a clear majority in the House.

The Nepali Congress won 51 seats under the direct voting system alone, and its allies, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Center and the Communist Party of Nepal-Socialist Unity, won 16 and 10 seats respectively.

Meanwhile, Loktantrik Samajwadi and Rastriya Janamorcha parties won four plus one seats.

For his part, the opposition coalition led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Auli, which includes the Rastriya Prajatantra and Janata Samajwadi organisations, has 52 seats.

The newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party also won seven seats, Nagarik Onmukti won three, while the Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party and Janamat each got one seat.

As the results of Nepal’s parliamentary elections come to a close, major political parties are intensifying their efforts to form a new government.

Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-M Center Chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda met in Kathmandu on Saturday and agreed to continue their five-party ruling alliance as part of the country’s new majority government.

M / appm