Only 156 of a total of 599 members of the parliament participated in today's voting for the post of prime minister. NC candidate Ram Chandra Poudel, the lone candidate running in the election secured only 109 votes in his favour. NC has 114 seats in the parliament.
Radhadevi Timilsina of CPN (United) voted against Poudel and 46 parliamentarians of the Madhesi alliance opted for ‘no vote’. MJF, UCPN (Maoist) and UML abstained from voting.
Poudel, however, was still upbeat about his winning. “I have not lost yet. I will win when the members of parliament fulfill their responsibility of participating in the parliamentary business,” he told reporters as he came out of the hall. He said the election process will continue until he gets elected.
The largest party UCPN (Maoist) withdrew its candidacy from the eighth round whereas UML and the Madhesi alliance formally decided to stay neutral. UCPN (Maoist) requires either UML or Madhesi alliance votes for the required majority of 301 seats, while the NC requires votes from both to win.
The 11th round of the prime ministerial elections will be held on Thursday.