Nepal President Dissolves Parliament Post Recommendation by PM Oli

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(Photo: Shruti Mathur / The Quint)

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari has ratified the proposal of the Cabinet to dissolve the Parliament, ANI reports, quoting the President's Office.

Earlier on Sunday, 20 December, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had recommended dissolution of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament at an emergency Cabinet meeting, reported news agency IANS.

The recommendation to to dissolve the House came two years prior to its term and was forwarded to President Bhandari for approval and effect.

The national elections will be held in two phases – on 30 April and 10 May, the Nepal President’s Office said, according to ANI.

Meanwhile, following the development, seven ministers of PM Oli’s Cabinet have resigned.

Lost Majority Support of Own Party

According to the Himalayan Times, Oli had called for an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers, following a series of meetings with top leaders and ministers of Nepal’s ruling Communist Party.

Quoting Nepal’s Energy Minister Barshaman Pun, the Kathmandu Post said that “Today’s Cabinet meeting decided to recommend the President to dissolve the Parliament.”

“The decision has been made in haste as all the ministers weren’t present in the cabinet meeting this morning. This is against the democratic norms and would take the nation backwards. It can’t be implemented,” Narayankaji Shrestha, spokesperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party had reportedly said earlier on Sunday.

According to a Reuters report, the Prime Minister's Nepal Communist Party said on Sunday that PM Oli had lost majority support.

“The prime minister has lost the majority in the parliamentary party, central committee and the secretariat of the party,” said Bishnu Rijal, a Central Committee member of the NPC, according to the report.

An aide to the PM said that he wants a fresh mandate in a general election after the loss of support from his own party.

(With inputs from Reuters, IANS, ANI, Himalayan Times and Kathmandu Post)