KATHMANDU, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba won a vote of confidence at the House of Representatives on Sunday, which will enable him to stay in the position till the next general election.

Deuba garnered 165 votes in the 271-member chamber of parliament, more than the 136 votes needed to pass the floor test.

"The vote of confidence motion tabled by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been endorsed with a majority," announced Agni Prasad Sapkota, speaker of the House of Representatives.

Deuba will be able to lead the government until the lower house's full term ends in about one and a half years.

As president of the Nepali Congress, Deuba was appointed the prime minister on July 13 after the Supreme Court directed President Bidya Devi Bhandari to do so in a verdict issued a day earlier, under which the court also reinstated the House of Representatives dissolved by Bhandari on May 22 over the recommendation of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Deuba has to seek a vote of confidence in parliament within 30 days of appointment under the Nepali constitution.

Urging all the parties to support him prior to the voting, Deuba said "I want to take all the parties together in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and poverty, among others."

It is the fifth time for 75-year-old Deuba to hold the office. The 2017 general election in Nepal was held under his leadership. Oli succeeded him as the prime minister in February 2018. Enditem

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