Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday night dissolved the House of Representatives and ordered fresh polls in six months, reported The Kathmandu Post. The two-phases mid-term elections will be held on November 12 and 19.
The decision was made on the recommendation of the Cabinet headed by caretaker Prime Minister KP Oli. A presidential statement said neither the caretaker prime minister nor the opposition leader were able to demonstrate a majority to form a new government by the Friday deadline.
“The president has dissolved the House of Representatives and ordered the first phase of general elections on November 12 and the second phase on November 19,” a presidential statement issued after midnight said.
This came after the president had to drop Oli’s claim to form the government on legal advice. The opposition parties and dissidents from the Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal had also warned that they would launch widespread protests if the president violated the constitution and retained Oli.
Oli was reappointed the prime minister on May 13 after the opposition parties, led by Nepali congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuja, were unable to put together a coalition government. Oli had submitted his list of 153 supporters — four more than Deuja’s — in which he had included several names of rivals as well.
This is the second time the House was dissolved in five months. On December 20, Oli had suddenly dissolved the House and called for snap elections. However, on February 23, the Supreme Court overturned his decision and called it unconstitutional.
The ruling Nepal Communist Party has been witnessing an intra-party feud between two factions, one led by the prime minister, and another by Prachanda, also the executive chair of the party. In June, Oli had claimed that efforts were being made to oust him after his government redrew the country’s political map by incorporating three strategically important Indian territories.
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