Kathmandu: Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari has called on parties to form a new majority government by Thursday. This move came after the one headed by the embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a trust vote Monday. It must be stated here that India must be watching with interest the developments in Nepal. It would certainly like Oli to go keeping in mind his close proximity to China.
The Office of the President, in a statement Tuesday, said President Bhandari has decided to invite parties to form a majority government. This is in pursuant to Article 76 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. She has allotted the parties three days’ time, asking them to stake their claim to the government by 9.00pm Thursday, ‘The Himalayan Times’ reported.
As per the constitutional provision, a candidate requires to submit signatures of lawmakers belonging to two or more political parties in parliament to the Office of President within the stipulated time.
Also read: Nepal PM Oli loses vote of confidence in House of Representatives
The President’s announcement came shortly after Oli lost a trust vote in the House of Representatives. Oli, who decided to seek the trust of the 275-member House on his government, managed to garner only 93 votes. It fell short of 43 votes to reach the 136-mark and win the vote of confidence during a special session of the lower house.
A total of 124 members voted against the confidence motion while 15 members stayed neutral, Speaker Agni Sapkota announced Monday. The session was attended by 232 lawmakers.
Oli, 69, lost the vote of confidence motion, days after the Nepal Communist Party Maoist Centre led by Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ withdrew its support, reducing the government to a minority.
After Oli lost the trust vote, the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and a faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party led by Upendra Yadav urged President Bhandari to invoke Article 76 (2) of the Constitution to pave the way for the formation of a new government.
Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Maoist Center chair Prachanda, and Yadav, one of the chairs of the Janata Samajbai Party, issued a joint statement.
“As per Article 100 (1) of the Constitution, the prime minister moved a vote of confidence motion, but lost it. The prime minister hence has been relieved of his position as per Article 100 (3). So, we call upon the President to initiate the process to form a new government under Article 76 (2),” the joint statement read.
With Oli failing the trust vote, the President needs to invoke Article 76 (2) to form a new government. It says in cases where no party has a clear majority in the House, the President shall appoint as the prime minister a member of the House who can command the majority with the support of two or more parties in the House of Representatives.
That could provide the Nepali Congress an opportunity to form a government with the backing of the Maoist Centre. But the two parties fall short of around 26 seats to form a new government, ‘0The Kathmandu Post’ reported.
If the House fails to form a government as per Article 76 (2) or a prime minister appointed under this provision fails to win the vote of confidence within 30 days from the appointment, the President shall invoke Article 76 (3), the report further stated. In that case, Oli is likely to stake a claim to the government once again, the report said.
Oli currently is the leader of a party that has the highest number of members in the House. If Oli is appointed under the Constitution, he also needs to win the vote of confidence within 30 days from the date of the appointment.