Kathmandu: K P Sharma Oli Monday was sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister for the fourth time to lead a new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation.
The leader of Nepal’s largest communist party was appointed as prime minister Sunday by President Ram Chandra Paudel to lead the coalition government with the Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in Parliament, apart from other smaller parties.
Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda,’ who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives (HoR) Friday, leading to the formation of the new government.
Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), Oli was sworn in by President Paudel at Shital Niwas, the main building of Rashtrapati Bhawan at a ceremony that was delayed by more than half an hour.
According to the news portal MyRepublica, the swearing-in ceremony was delayed due to the failure of the Nepali Congress to finalise the names of its ministers to join the government amid disputes within the party.
The President also administered oaths to the two Deputy PMs – Prakash Man Singh and Bishnu Paudel – and 19 other ministers. Singh would also look after the Urban Development Ministry while Vishnu Prakash Paudel would look after the Finance Ministry.
Arzoo Rana Deuba, wife of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba is the Foreign Minister in the cabinet.
There are 10 cabinet ministers from the Nepali Congress; eight, excluding the Prime Minister, from the CPN-UML, two from the Janata Samajwadi Party and one from the Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party in the government.
Outgoing Prime Minister Prachanda was also present at the ceremony, which was attended by foreign diplomats and other dignitaries.
Earlier Sunday, President Paudel had appointed Oli as the new Prime Minister under Article 76-2 of the Constitution of Nepal, according to a notice issued by the President’s Office.
On Friday night, Oli had staked his claim to become the next Prime Minister with the backing of NC President Deuba and submitted the signatures of 165 House of Representatives (HoR) members — 77 from his Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) party and 88 from the Nepali Congress. (NC).
Oli will now need to secure a vote of confidence from Parliament within 30 days of appointment, which he is likely to secure easily as the minimum number to form a government in the 275-strong HoR is just 138.
Prachanda faced the vote of confidence as earlier last week, Oli’s party withdrew its support to that coalition and inked a new seven-point deal with Deuba to form a new coalition government.
According to the July 1 deal between NC and CPN-UML, the two parties will lead the government on a rotational basis until the next general elections scheduled for 2027.
Oli served as Nepal’s prime minister from October 11, 2015, to August 3, 2016 and then, from February 5, 2018, to July 13, 2021. He continued to serve from May 13, 2021, to July 13, 2021 — because of an appointment by the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari, described by local media as a success of Oli’s Machiavellian tricks. Later, the Supreme Court ruled that Oli’s claim to the post of prime minister was unconstitutional.
Nepal has faced frequent political turmoil as the country has seen 14 governments in the past 16 years after the Republican system was introduced.
The priority for the new Oli government, just like it was for its predecessors, will be to breathe some life into a stagnant economy, The Kathmandu Post newspaper said in an editorial.
“A message of political stability given through a two-thirds majority will help. Yet both in and outside the country, there is a justified suspicion over the longevity of this ‘unnatural’ Congress-Communist coalition,” it said.
“Oli as prime minister must be ready to make some tough personal adjustments in order to stop the cycle of instability in government,” it said, apparently referring to Oli displaying his “authoritarian streak” right after taking charge as the executive head.
This means not just reining in his natural tendency to rebuff critics and rely on a small coterie on all vital matters but reaching out to coalition partners and even the opposition parties as often as he can,” the editorial said.
In fact, if Oli tries to go it alone, before long this coalition too will implode.”The onus is on Oli to prove his critics wrong,” it added.