Nepal Prez dissolves House, announces snap polls in Nov
Kathmandu: Nepal's President dissolved the House of Representatives on Saturday for the second time in five months and announced snap elections in November, rejecting both embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the Opposition alliance's claims to form a government, a move that will be legally challenged yet again.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari announced in an early morning statement that the House of Representatives has been dissolved in accordance with Article 76(7) of the Constitution, ending a day of high-voltage political drama in the Himalayan nation, amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the Article, a date to conduct another election within six months must also be fixed. The President has called early elections pursuant to the Article, the dates being set for November 12 and November 19.
The announcement came after Prime Minister Oli in his last deal-sealing move on Friday midnight recommended the Office of the President to dissolve the 275-member House and announce dates for early elections.
Earlier, Oli and Opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba had staked separate claims to premiership, both of which were rejected by the president, citing that none had adequate grounds for winning a vote of confidence.
"It has been noted that Prime Minister Oli counted those lawmakers as his supporters who extended support to the Opposition alliance, whereas the UML and JSP-N have forwarded letters stating action would be taken against those who had gone against the party to endorse the Opposition's claim," Bhandari said in a statement late on Friday.
The president's announcement plunged Nepal into further political crisis, a reminder of her December 2020 decision when she first dissolved the House at Oli's recommendation, a move that swayed the course of Nepali politics towards uncertainty.
The Supreme Court had annulled the duo's move in February.
Alarmed by the duo's move yet again, the leaders of Nepal's Opposition alliance on Saturday decided to take all legal and political means to counter Prime Minister Oli and President Bhandari's "unconstitutional and undemocratic" move of dissolving the House.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
Oli's move to dissolve the House sparked protests from a large section of the NCP led by his rival 'Prachanda'. In February, the apex court reinstated the dissolved House, in a setback to Oli who was preparing for snap polls.
Meanwhile, Oli on Saturday asked the Election Commission to initiate necessary preparations for the upcoming elections for the dissolved House of Representatives and ensure fair and fraud-free polls in November.
In a meeting with the commissioners of the poll body, Prime Minister Oli said that the parliamentary elections were inevitable.
The prime minister directed the election commission to expedite its preparations to hold the election on the stipulated dates," according to Surya Thapa, a press aide to Oli.
