K P Oli sworn in as Nepal Prime Minister again

Kathmandu: K P Sharma Oli, heading a minority government, was sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister on Friday, four days after the embattled leader lost a crucial vote of confidence in Parliament.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Oli as the prime minister at a scaled-down ceremony at Shital Niwas, the presidential palace.

The 69-year-old Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-(Unified Marxist Leninist) was reappointed as prime minister by the president in his capacity as leader of the largest political party in Nepal's House of Representatives.

Oli will head a minority government as he does not enjoy a majority in Parliament after losing the vote of confidence on Monday. He was reappointed to the post on Thursday night as the Opposition parties failed to secure majority seats in Parliament to form a new government.

Oli will now have to take a vote of confidence at the House within 30 days, failing which, an attempt to form a government under Article 76 (5) of the Constitution would be initiated by the President.

The ministers of Oli's Cabinet were also sworn in during the ceremony.

During the oath-taking ceremony, Prime Minister Oli and Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel did not mention the word God though President Bhandari had mentioned it.

I will take oath in the name of the country and the people, Oli said, while President Bhandari had mentioned God, country and the people.

All the ministers and ministers of state from the old Cabinet have been included in the new Cabinet.

Pradeep Gyawali has been reappointed as Foreign Minister while Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bishnu Poudyal were appointed as ministers for Home and Finance. The oath-taking ceremony was kept brief keeping in mind the raging COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun and Supreme Court Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana were among the distinguished personalities who attended the ceremony.

There are 22 ministers and three ministers of state in the new Cabinet.

Oli previously served as prime minister from October 11, 2015 to August 3, 2016 and again from February 15, 2018 to May 13, 2021.

Earlier, the president had asked the Opposition parties to come up with the support of majority lawmakers to form a new government by 9 pm on Thursday after Oli lost the vote of confidence in the House on Monday.

Until Thursday, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who got backing from CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda" was hopeful to get sufficient votes in the House to stake his claim as the next Prime Minister.

But as Madhav Kumar Nepal took a U-turn after his last-minute meeting with Oli, Deuba's dream to become the next Prime Minister was shattered.