Motion of no confidence

In the Australian Parliament, a motion of no-confidence requires a majority of the members present in the House of Representatives to agree to it. The House of Representatives has 151 members and so requires 76 votes in favour of the motion when all members of the House are present. A straight vote of no confidence in the Australian government and a motion or amendment censuring a government have never been successful in the House of Representatives.[1] However, governments have on eight occasions resigned or advised a dissolution after their defeat on other questions before the House.[1] The last time that a government resigned after being defeated in the House came in October 1941, when the House rejected the budget of Arthur Fadden's minority government.

Specific motions of no confidence or censure against the Prime Minister, ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, Senators and leaders of political parties have been successful on some occasions. Motions of no confidence against the government may be passed in the Senate but have little or no impact in the House.[1] However, the Senate's right to refuse supply helped spark the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. The convention remains a grey area, as Westminster governments are not normally expected to maintain the confidence of the upper house.

In the Parliament of Bangladesh, there is no provision to hold motions of no-confidence, as a result of Article 70 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, which prohibits Members of Parliament from voting against their party and made the removal of a sitting government unattainable.

In Canada, a vote of confidence is a motion that the legislature approves and consents to be ruled by the governing prime minister or provincial premier and the incumbent Cabinet.[2] Originating as a constitutional convention,[2] it remains an uncodified practice which is not outlined in any standing orders for the House of Commons. "Confidence motions may be:[3]

1. explicitly worded motions that state that the House has, or has not, confidence in the government;
2. motions declared by the government to be questions of confidence;
3. and implicit motions of confidence, that is, motions traditionally deemed to be questions of confidence, such as motions for the granting of supply (although the government may not necessarily lose confidence over an individual item of supply), motions concerning the budgetary policy of the government and motions respecting the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne."

A non-confidence motion may be directed against only the incumbent government in the legislature, with votes of non-confidence against the legislature's Official Opposition being inadmissible.[4]

At the federal level, a vote of non-confidence in a motion presented by a member of the House of Commons explicitly states the House has no confidence in the incumbent government.[3] The government may also declare any bill or motion to be a question of confidence.[3] Several motions and bills are also considered implicit motions on confidence, and a vote of no confidence may be asserted automatically if such a bill fails to pass. Bills and motions that are considered implicit motions of confidence include appropriations or supply bills, motions concerning budgetary policy, and the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.[5] The failure to pass those bills may be used as an automatic assertion of a vote of no confidence, but the opposition is not obligated to assert the failure as a non-confidence motion against the government.[6]

If a vote of non-confidence passes, the prime minister is required to either resign or request the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament and call a general election.[2] The Governor-General may refuse a request for dissolution if an election has recently been held or there is another leader who can likely gain the confidence of the House. If a dissolution request is refused, the prime minister must resign, and the Governor-General invites the leader of another coalition/party to form a new government.[2] Six motions of non-confidence have been passed in the House of Commons: in 1926, 1963, 1974, 1979, 2005, and 2011.[5] All successful votes of non-confidence in the 20th century was the result of a loss of supply; votes of non-confidence in 2005 and 2011 were the result of explicit confidence motions presented by the opposition.

The confidence convention is also present in the provincial legislatures of Canada, operating much like their federal counterpart. However, the decision to dissolve the legislature and call an election or to see if another coalition/party can form a government is left to the provincial Lieutenant-Governor.[5]

Two Canadian territories, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, operate as a consensus government system in which the premier is chosen by the members of the nonpartisan legislature. If a vote of non-confidence against the incumbent government passes, the premier and the cabinet are removed from office, and the legislature elects a new premier.[7] In a consensus government, confidence motions may be directed against any individual ministers holding office as they are also nominated by members of the legislature.[8]

The European Parliament can dismiss the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, through a successful motion of no confidence, which requires a two-thirds vote. A successful vote on the motion leads to the resignation of the entire Commission.[9]

In Germany,[10] a vote of no confidence in the Federal Chancellor requires the opposition, on the same ballot, to propose a candidate of its own whom it wants the Federal President to appoint as its successor. Thus, a motion of no confidence may be brought forward only if there is a positive majority for the new candidate. The idea was to prevent the state crises that occurred near the end of the German Weimar Republic. Frequently, chancellors were then turned out of the office without their successors having enough parliamentary support to govern. Unlike the British system, chancellors do not have to resign in response to the failure of a vote of confidence if it has been initiated by them, rather than by the parliamentary opposition, but they may ask the President to call general elections, a request that the President decides on whether to fulfill.

The Parliament may, by its decision, withdraw its confidence from the Government or from a member of it. A motion of no confidence can only be submitted six months after the Parliament has rejected a previous one. The motion must be signed by at least one-sixth of the Members and must clearly state the issues to be debated. A motion of no confidence is accepted only if it is approved by the absolute majority of the total number of Members. [11]

In India, a motion of no confidence can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India) and is admitted for discussion when at least 50 percent of members support the motion (under Rule 198 of Lok Sabha Rules, 16th edition).[12] If the motion carries, the House debates and votes on the motion. If a majority of the members vote in favour of the motion, it is passed, and the government is bound to vacate the office. Acharya Kripalani moved the first-ever no-confidence motion on the floor of the Lok Sabha in August 1963, immediately after the disastrous Sino-Indian War.[13][14] As of July 2019, 27 nonconfidence motions have been moved. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi faced the most no-confidence motions (15), followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri and P. V. Narasimha Rao (three each), Morarji Desai (two) and Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi (one each). Vajpayee lost the no-confidence motion by a margin of one vote (269-270) in April 1999.[15] Prime Minister Desai resigned on 12 July 1979. The most recent no-confidence motion was against the Narendra Modi government and accepted by the Speaker but defeated by 325–126.[16]

With the Anti-Defection Law, a vote of no confidence has no relevance when the majority party has an absolute majority since it can whip party members to vote in favour of the government; it is thus impossible to remove the government by a no-confidence motion. Hence, the no-confidence exercise of the house becomes a no-confidence exercise of the party.[17]

In Ireland, if a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach or the government of Ireland is passed by the Dáil Éireann, and the Taoiseach and the government do not resign, the Dáil must be dissolved and a general election must be called.[18]

The motion of no confidence is outlined in Israeli Basic Law Article 28 and Article 44 of the Knesset's Rule of Procedure.[19]

In Italy,[20] the government requires the support of both houses of Parliament. A vote of no confidence may be proposed if a tenth of the members of either house sign the proposition and within three days before the appointed date, the vote can be brought into the discussion. After the case of Filippo Mancuso in 1995 and the subsequent Constitutional Court sentence in 1996,[21] it is possible to propose an individual vote of no confidence against a single minister, instead of the whole government.

Article 69 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan provides that "if the House of Representatives passes a non-confidence resolution, or rejects a confidence resolution, the Cabinet shall resign en masse, unless the House of Representatives is dissolved within ten (10) days."

In Malaysia's federal political system, votes of confidence in state legislative assemblies of Malaysia have removed its heads of state governments four times, most recently Faizal Azumu's Perak ministry in 2020.[22] During the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis, opposition MPs demanded a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin,[23] but he resigned before this could take place.[24]

The Constitution of Pakistan has provision for a no-confidence motion in all constituents of the Electoral College of the state. The motions can target speakers and deputy speakers of provincial and national assemblies, the Prime Minister, chief ministers of provinces, as well as the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Senate.[25] Before it can be put for a vote on the pertinent house's floor, it must have the backing of at least 20% of the elected members in all cases except those moved against speakers or deputy speakers in which case there is no minimum. After being put to vote, the motion is deemed to be successful only if passed by a majority.[26]

The no-confidence procedure has historically been mostly used to remove speakers and deputy speakers. Of the 11 times that the motion has been invoked, nine cases targeted those posts, with four being effective.[26][27] An incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan has only been subject to a no confidence vote once, in November 1989, when Benazir Bhutto faced an ultimately unsuccessful motion by Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi.[28] The same is the case for a provincial Chief Minister, as the only instance of its use is the one moved against Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sanaullah Zehri in January 2018, who resigned before the vote could take place.[29]

Since gaining independence in 1947, only Imran Khan was successfully removed as Prime Minister through a motion of no confidence in 2022. An earlier attempt led by the opposition was dismissed by the Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri using Article 5 of the constitution. Later on, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly immediately after receiving advice from Prime Minister Khan to do so, causing a constitutional crisis.[30] On 7 April 2022, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that the dismissal of the no-confidence motion, the prorogation of the National Assembly, advice of prime minister Imran Khan to president Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly and subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly were unconstitutional, and overturned these actions.[31] On 10 April 2022, the reconvened National Assembly passed the motion of no confidence against Khan by a majority vote of 172, being the first successful ousting through no–confidence motion.[32][33]

In Peru, both the legislative and the executive branches have the power to bring a motion of no confidence against acting legal members of the other branch.[34] The President of the Cabinet may propose a motion of no confidence against any minister to Congress, which then needs more than half the Congress to approve it. The President of the Republic may dissolve Congress if it has censured or denied its confidence to two Cabinets. The relevant Articles 132-134 are in the 1993 version of the Constitution of Peru.

During the 2019 Peruvian constitutional crisis, President Martín Vizcarra enacted a constitutional process on 29 May 2019 to create a motion of no confidence towards Congress if it refused to co-operate with his proposed actions against corruption.

Any MP in the National Assembly may request a motion of no confidence in either the Cabinet, excluding the President, or the President. The Speaker, within the rules of Parliament, must add such a motion to the Order Paper and give it a priority. If a motion of no confidence cannot be scheduled by the last sitting day of the annual sitting, it must be the first item on the Order Paper of the next sitting.[35] In the event of a successful motion, the Speaker automatically assumes the position of acting president.

On 7 August 2017, Speaker Baleka Mbete announced that she would permit a motion of no confidence in Jacob Zuma's government to proceed in the National Assembly via secret ballot. It was the eighth motion to be brought against Zuma in his presidency and the first to be held via secret ballot. After the vote was held the next day, the motion was defeated 198–177, with 25 abstentions.[36] Around 20 governing ANC MPs voted in favour of the measure.

The outgoing Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (right) congratulates the incoming Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (left) upon losing the no confidence vote on 1 June 2018.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 provides for motions of no confidence to be proposed by one-tenth of the Congress of Deputies. Following the German model, votes of no confidence in Spain are constructive and so the motion must also include an alternative candidate for Prime Minister. For a motion of no confidence to be successful, it has to be carried by an absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies. At least five days must pass after the motion is registered before it can come up for a vote. Other parties may submit alternative motions within two days of the registration.[37][38]

Also, the Prime Minister is barred from dissolving the Cortes Generales and calling a general election while a motion of no confidence is pending. If the motion is successful, the incumbent Prime Minister must resign. According to the Constitution, the replacement candidate named in the motion is automatically deemed to have the confidence of the Congress of Deputies and is immediately appointed as Prime Minister by the monarch. If the motion is unsuccessful, its signatories may not submit another motion during the same session.[37][38]

The current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was sworn in on 2 June 2018 after a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had been approved on 1 June 2018.[39]

Under Article 25(1) of the Constitution of Singapore, the Prime Minister of Singapore must command the confidence of Parliament less NCMPs and NMPs. Since Singapore's independence on 9th August 1965, no Singaporean Government has ever faced a motion of no confidence. However, Prime Minister of Singapore,Lee Kuan Yew faced 3 no - confidence motions in 1961, 1962 and 1963, all prior to independence.

The 1960s saw the ruling PAP split between the right wing led by Lee Kuan Yew and the left wing led by Lim Chin Siong. This caused PAP's massive majority to diminish. Lee Kuan Yew faced his first confidence vote on 20th July 1961 following the PAP's defeat in the Hong Lim and Anson by-elections. This motion was rather a Motion of Confidence tabled by the Prime Minister himself. All 51 Assemblymen were present and voting. The Prime Minister won the vote by a margin of 3 seats. The results were as follows:

[40]

Among the 16 abstentions were 13 left wing PAP members who went on to form the Barisan Sosialis. On 13th July 1962, Barisan MP Lee Siew Choh tabled a motion of no-confidence against Lee Kuan Yew. 3 Assemblymen were absent bringing the total membership of the Legislative Assembly to 48 present and voting. The Prime Minister lost the vote by 1 seat. However, as per Westminster tradition, the Prime Minister is not required to resign immediately. Therefore, Lee Kuan Yew remained in office. The results for this motion of no-confidence are as follows:

[41]

Lee Siew Choh tabled another motion of no-confidence against Lee Kuan Yew's government on 15th June 1963 over issues regarding the proposed merger of Singapore into the Federation of Malaysia. 5 members were absent from the Assembly and 1 seat was vacant bringing the total membership down to 45 present and voting. This time, Lee Kuan Yew's Government won the vote by a margin of 1 seat. The results are as follows:

[42]

In September 1963, the Legislative Assembly was dissolved and fresh elections were called. The rump PAP won the election with a two-thirds majority therefore staving any further attempts by the Barisan Socialis to move further motions of no-confidence. Following meger and separation (1963-1965), and with Barisan's boycott of Parliament, the PAP was the dominant party in Parliament and motions of no-confidence became "rare", in fact "non-existant". Further, Lee Kuan Yew's 1961 motion of confidence remains the only time that a Singaporean Prime Minister has ever tabled a motion of confidence in his own government.

A motion of no confidence may be levelled against either the Prime Minister on behalf of the entire Swedish government or against an individual lower-level minister. At least 35 members of parliament (MPs) must support a proposal to initiate such a vote. A majority of MPs (175 members) must vote for a motion of no confidence for it to be successful. An individual minister who loses a confidence vote must resign. If a prime minister loses a no-confidence vote, the entire government must resign.[43] The speaker may allow the ousted prime minister to head a transitional or caretaker government until Parliament elects a new prime minister.

Under the principle of negative parliamentarism, a prime ministerial candidate nominated by the Speaker does not need the confidence of a majority of MPs to be elected. However, a majority of MPs must not vote against the candidate, which renders prime ministerial votes similar to no-confidence votes. That means that a prime ministerial candidate, to be successful in the parliamentary vote, must have at least a total of 175 votes in favour and/or abstention. If a Speaker fails four times to have a nominee elected, an election must be held within three months of the final vote.

Traditionally, in the Westminster system, the defeat of a supply bill, which concerns the spending of money, is seen to require automatically for the government to resign or ask for a new election, much like a no-confidence vote. A government in a Westminster system that cannot spend money is hamstrung, which is also called a loss of supply.

In the British Parliament, a no-confidence motion generally first appeared as an early day motion although the vote on the Speech from the Throne was also a confidence motion.[44] However, from 2011 to 2022, under the then-Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, only a motion explicitly resolving that "this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government" was treated as a motion of no confidence.

In Russia, the lower house of the Federal Assembly (the State Duma) may by a simple majority (at least 226 votes out of 450) pass a motion of no confidence against the government of Russia as a whole. In that case, the matter goes for consideration of the Russian President, who may choose to dismiss the cabinet, which he can do anyway anytime at his own discretion, or just ignore the Duma's decision. If the Duma passes a second motion of no confidence against the same composition of the cabinet within three months, the President is forced to make a concrete decision on whether to dismiss the government or to dissolve the Duma itself and call for new general elections. The State Duma may not be dissolved on those grounds if it was elected less than a year earlier, if it has already initiated impeachment proceedings against the President himself by bringing respective accusations, if less than six months remain left until presidential elections, or if there is a state of emergency or martial law throughout the whole territory of Russia. In the above-mentioned cases, the President is then effectively forced to dismiss the government.

In France, the lower house of French Parliament (the French National Assembly) may by a simple majority vote pass a motion of no confidence against the French government as a whole. In that case, the government is removed from power, and the President of France has to appoint a new Prime Minister of France, who then has to form a new government.

In Sri Lanka, the Parliament of Sri Lanka may pass a motion of no confidence against the Sri Lankan government. In that case, the government is removed from power and the President of Sri Lanka has to appoint a new Prime Minister, who has to form a new government.