Nepal President Dissolves House, Announces Polls on 12 & 19 Nov

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

(Photo: IANS)

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday midnight, 21 May, dissolved the Parliament as per the recommendation of the government and declared midterm elections on 12 and 19 November, reports IANS.

As per the constitutional provision, the President has authenticated the recommendation made by the Cabinet to dissolve the House and declare snap polls for 12 and 19 November, a notice issued by the President Office read.

This is the second time that the House has been dissolved. Earlier, President Bhandari had dissolved the House on 20 December 2020, but later it was reinstated on 23 February.

The decision to dissolve the house came hours after a new government formation bid failed.

“The President has denied claims by both Sher Bahadur Deuba and KP Sharma Oli for prime ministership,” a statement from the Office of President read, according to ANI.

President Invalidates Petitions for PM's Position

While invalidating both petitions registered by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba staking claim for the post of prime minister, Bhandari has stated that the claims made by both Oli and Deuba have failed to meet the required provisions and as such, neither Oli or Deuba can form the new government.

On Thursday, President Bhandari had called on to form the new government as per the Article 76-5 of the Constitution. Before the deadline expired, Oli and Deuba claimed the formation of the new government with majority of the signatures, reported IANS.

Later, the president issued a statement saying that she did not see any reliable reason behind claims made by Oli and Deuba to form the new government and therefore, she is not going to appoint a new prime minister.

The claim made by both Oli and Deuba was insufficient, a statement by the President's Office said, hence it could not meet the required numbers. Based on the signatures and claims by the both sides, the President’s Office said that there is no concrete basis for both the claimants to get a vote of confidence from the Parliament as per the Article 76-5 of the Constitution.

PM Oli Loses Vote of Confidence in Parliament

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday, 10 May, had lost a confidence vote in the country’s Parliament.

The Nepalese PM faced a floor test in Parliament on Monday and needed 136 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives to win the vote of confidence.

However, reports said that 93 lawmakers voted in favour of PM Oli while 124 of them voted against him, and 15 abstained.

(With inputs from ANI and IANS.)