Rastriya Swatantra Party Poised to Form Single-Party Majority Government, Altering Election Narrative

Kathmandu. The narrative previously established that no single party could secure a majority in the proportional representation system of the parliamentary elections has been broken this time by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

Based on the latest vote count, including proportional representation, the RSP has secured over 3.8 million votes in the proportional category and won 124 seats in the direct elections. With both results finalized, it is certain that the RSP will achieve a single-party majority.

Upon securing a comfortable majority, the process will begin for President Ramchandra Paudel to appoint the leader of the parliamentary party with a majority in the House of Representatives as Prime Minister, as per Article 76(1) of the Constitution.

Article 76 (1) of the Constitution stipulates the appointment of the leader of the parliamentary party commanding a majority in the House of Representatives as Prime Minister. Subsequently, the Council of Ministers will be formed under their chairmanship. To form the government, the leader of the RSP parliamentary party will now stake a claim to the Prime Ministership before the President, presenting a clear majority basis.

Prior to that, according to Section 62 of the Federal Parliament Election Act, 2074, the Election Commission will submit a report containing the final results to President Ramchandra Paudel within one week of the final results being announced. The process for forming a new government will commence once the report reaches the President.

The Constitution contains various provisions regarding government formation, spanning from Article 76, sub-clauses 1 to 7. After the establishment of the Republic, following the 2079 elections, there was initially a coalition government under 76(2). This converted to sub-clause (1) after the UML and Maoist parties merged. Article 76 (1) of the Constitution provides for a single-party majority government, sub-clause (2) for a joint government of two or more parties, sub-clause (3) for a government led by the largest party in the House of Representatives, sub-clauses (4) and (6) for provisions regarding a vote of confidence, and sub-clause (5) for a government formed by any member of parliament with the support of other parties. Furthermore, sub-clause (7) mentions the dissolution of the House of Representatives and elections.

In the past, when there were many parties in parliament, a government under Article 76(1) could not be formed according to the constitutional process. “The President would have to call for government formation under Article 76(2) of the coalition constitution,” said Advocate Kirtinath Sharma Paudel, “but in the current situation, the RSP appears to have a comfortable majority. Accordingly, if the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chooses Balendra Shah as its parliamentary party leader and sends him, he automatically becomes the Prime Minister.”

The President must summon a session of the Federal Parliament within one month of the Election Commission announcing the final election results. This provision is stated in Article 93 (1) of the Constitution.

Advocate Paudel states that a majority party will not need to seek a vote of confidence in parliament, unlike in the past. He said, “After the final results are announced, the President will appoint the majority party leader as Prime Minister under Article 76 (1), and the government formation process will move forward. A Prime Minister who obtains a clear majority in this manner is not required to obtain a vote of confidence. This is only necessary for a coalition government.”

He explained that with a comfortable majority for a single party, securing a vote of confidence is unnecessary, as a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives requires 138 seats from both direct and proportional elections. He added, “If a coalition government is formed with two or more parties, there is a mandatory provision to obtain a vote of confidence from the parliament. If a coalition government fails to secure a vote of confidence from parliament within 30 days, the Prime Minister automatically stands removed from office.”

Paudel stated that while the past practice involved the President calling for government formation within seven to fourteen days, now a single majority party can directly form the government. In the absence of a single majority, a coalition government of two or more parties would be formed under Article 76(2) of the Constitution. However, in the current scenario, the option of Article 76(1) of the Constitution is unavoidable.

Only after the government is formed will the process for electing the President and Vice President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker proceed according to parliamentary procedure. Looking at the arithmetic of the election results, the RSP is positioned not only to be the leading party but also to have the capacity to provide a stable five-year government with a comfortable majority through direct and proportional representation combined.