The opposition parties have filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the decision of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to dissolve the House of Representatives and announce mid-term elections on the recommendation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government.
The writ has been filed by 146 lawmakers of the opposition parties seeking the reinstatement of the House of Representatives and appointment of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime minister.
President Bhandari had on May 20 had called on members of the House of Representatives to claim premiership furnishing enough grounds to win the vote of confidence in the Parliament. As per Article 76 (5) of the Cosntitution of Nepal, the president can appoint any member of parliament as prime minister if the member presents sufficient ground that he or she can win the vote of confidence in the Parliament.
The deadline to do so was 5 pm on May 21.
Though both Oli and Deuba had submitted claims to form the government the president had rejected both the claims stating that both the claims did not hold sufficient ground to confirm that they would win the vote of confidence in the Parliament to be appointed the prime minister.
And in a new political twist after a few hours of rejecting both the claims President Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced the dates for mid-term elections on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
The lawmakers of the opposition parties have stated that President Bhandari refusing to appoint Deuba as the country’s prime minister was an unconstitutional act. They have also mentioned that PM Oli did not have the right to stake a claim to the prime minister’s post after he had already admitted that he would not be able to win the vote of confidence in the Parliament and recommended for an alternate government.
READ ALSO:
