Nepal PM survives no-trust vote

Prime Minister Koirala: Troubles far from over

Nepal's Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, has survived a battle for control of his party which had threatened the future of his nine-month-old government.

Attempts to hold a no-confidence vote in Mr Koirala's leadership of the Nepali Congress Party were soundly defeated, with 69 of 113 of the party's MPs voting against. No-one voted in favour.

The motion had been brought by dissident Congress MPs - led by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba - who accuse Mr Koirala of failing to deliver on election promises.

Mr Koirala's opponents boycotted the vote after their demand for a secret ballot was rejected.

"The voting took place by open ballot and 69 Nepali Congress MPs supported Koirala and foiled the no-trust motion registered against him," party spokesman Narahari Acharya said.

Infighting

The BBC's Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu says, however, that the boycott indicates that the political crisis facing Mr Koirala is far from over.

The dissident MPs, who stormed out of parliament after their defeat, say the refusal to hold a secret ballot was against established party practice.

They believed that a secret ballot would have had the support of 57 MPs - the minimum needed to register the no-confidence motion, which sought Mr Koirala's removal as the leader of the Nepali Congress's parliamentary party.

Analysts say that despite overcoming the motion Mr Koirala is likely to face more political trouble because of internal dissension in his party.

The Nepali Congress has 113 lawmakers in the 205-member lower house of parliament.