At an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday morning, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli recommended the dissolution of the Parliament of Nepal and called a general election.
The decision was ratified by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari in an official announcement hours later.
“Prime Minister Oli was mandated to rule Nepal, but there were persistent problems among the highest ranks of the ruling party, as the top leaders were unable to accompany the prime minister. There is a tradition in democracy to deal with such situations by going back to the people and Prime Minister Oli has decided to seek a new mandate, ”said Rajan Bhattarai, Foreign Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Oli. The Hindu from Kathmandu.
The president has called for two-phase elections to be held on April 30 and May 10 next year. The dramatic move came after weeks of tension with challenger Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, who has been demanding that Oli change his ruling style.
Protests erupt
Immediately after the announcement, seven ministers close to Mr. Prachanda announced their resignation at a press conference.
Mr. Oli’s announcement was followed by the deployment of rapid action forces in the capital Kathmandu and other major cities and towns in Nepal, where protests erupted spontaneously.
Nepal held elections in November-December 2017 and the Pratinidhi Sabha, out of 275 elected members, is expected to serve a full five-year term.
Indicating fast-paced political changes, the rival faction of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (PNC) led by Mr. Prachanda and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal formed a joint platform to protest against Mr. Oli’s move, together with the Janata Party Samajvadi of former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and the Congress of Nepal.
The dissolution of Parliament prompted a meeting of the pro-Prachanda faction in the PNC Standing Committee on Sunday. The group decided to take disciplinary action against Mr. Oli.
Both factions of the NCP are expected to meet on Monday. Meanwhile, at least three writ petitions were filed in the Supreme Court of Nepal on Sunday. NCP sources said the party expects more such requests to be filed on Monday.
The Oli government, in recent weeks, was unable to pass politically sensitive decisions due to opposition in the Standing Committee, where the Prachanda faction is in the majority.
Tension between the two factions has been mounting since May, and Mr. Prachanda repeatedly accused Mr. Oli of failing to consult party organs to make key decisions. Both parties came together to claim the Kalapani region of India and assisted in the approval of a new political map of Nepal. However, the disputes began shortly after Parliament approved the new map on June 13.
It is well known that Mr. Prachanda was unhappy with the appointment of key Ambassadors and Cabinet Ministers without proper consultation with the Standing Committee. The situation worsened this month because Mr. Oli was unable to get the higher party bodies to approve the ordinances due to opposition from the Prachanda faction.
Strong criticism
The decision to dissolve Parliament has drawn strong criticism from both the opposition and members of the ruling coalition. “The decision is unconstitutional as there is no provision in our 2015 Constitution to dissolve Parliament which is working perfectly well. The problem was within the Communist Party of Nepal and the Prime Minister cannot attack Parliament for its inability to deal with dissidents within the party, ”said Rajendra Mahto of the Janata Samajvadi Party. He added that Nepal faces an uncertain future due to the decision. “The decision amounts to a hit.”
Political leaders, including former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, warned about the future of Nepal in the context of the cabinet decision.
“Prime Minister Oli’s recommendation is extremely unfortunate and a stain on Nepal’s politics. This goes against the interests of democracy. All political parties in Nepal must protest against this development, ”said Bhattarai.
.
