Nepali PM faces no-confidence motion

KATHMANDU: Nepali opposition lawmakers filed a no-confidence motion on Wednesday against Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli after former rebel Maoists quit his coalition, triggering fresh political turmoil in the quake-hit nation.

The former guerrillas announced on Tuesday that they were withdrawing support for Oli’s government, leaving his coalition without a majority.

After Oli refused to resign, opposition lawmakers from the Nepali Congress and the Maoists filed a motion against the embattled premier in parliament, an official told AFP.

"A no-confidence motion against the PM has been registered, 280 members have signed it," said parliament spokesman Bharat Gautam.

According to procedure, Oli will now have a week to secure support for a majority government before parliament hosts discussions and a possible vote on the motion, Gautam said.

Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) currently holds 175 elected seats in parliament, far fewer than the 299 needed to win a vote of confidence.