KATMANDU, Dec. 11 -- Nepal's Communist opposition has filed a no-confidence motion against the shaky three-party coalition government now running the country. Opposition sources pressing for a change of government say they have the support of 102 members of Parliament and need just one more vote to oust the 15 month-old coalition led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The Deuba government has been increasingly fragile since seven ministers from the two junior coalition partners rebelled and threw their support to the Communist opposition. Nepal's King Birendra has called a special session of Parliament for Monday to discuss the no-confidence motion. The royal palace says the king has already accepted the resignation of the local development minister Kamal Thapa, but Deuba has so far refused to accept the resignation of the six other ministers. This is the second parliamentary no-confidence motion against Deuba in the last six months. Nepal's Communist government was ousted 15 months ago and the leftists have been trying to regain power ever since. They have the support of a faction of the right-leaning Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, which has 19 Parliamentary votes. br-alk/upi
