PM Oli and Madhav Nepal holding meeting at party headquarters Dhumbarahi
KATHMANDU, Mar 15: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and senior leader of CNP-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal are holding a meeting at party headquarters in Dhumbarahi.
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli has often faced criticism for his habitual tardiness to meetings. This was the case again on November 25, when he invited former Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers to discuss his upcoming visit to China. However, when PM Oli failed to show up at the scheduled time, Madhav Nepal, who was […]
At a programme organised on the occasion of 70th birth anniversary of late Madan Kumar Bhandari on Monday, UML Chairman Oli said that Madhav Kumar Nepal is just a minor cadre of Prachanda. Oli also argued that there was no ground on the statement that leader Nepal was proposed for the premiership.
KATHMANDU, May 22: President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the lower house of parliament --- the House of Representatives --- as per Article 76 (7) and announced fresh parliamentary elections for November 12 and 19 upon the recommendation of Cabinet meeting held on Friday midnight.
Earlier that, President Bhandari rejected the claims staked for the new government formation as per Article 76 (5). Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli claimed to have the support of a majority of lawmakers in parliament. While PM Oli said that as many as 153 lawmakers --- 121 from the UML and 32 from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) --- supported him for new government formation, Deuba also claimed to have support of 149 lawmakers --- 61 from NC, 49 from CPN (Maoist Center), 26 from ruling CPN-UML’s Madhav Nepal faction, 12 from Janata Samajbadi Party’s Upendra Yadav faction and an independent lawmaker. The claims from both the leaders were rejected citing the lack of strong bases for new government formation as per Article 76 (5).
Following the House dissolution move, opposition parties, leaders of various political parties and legal experts have issued statements and criticised the move as it was ‘against the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal.’
The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) said that Saturday’s House dissolution move has drawn its serious attention. President Sher Bahadur Deuba accused President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Oli of abusing the constitution as their private property. In a statement issued on Saturday, Deuba announced to wage political and legal battles against the move.
Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center), Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said that the move to dissolve the House of Representatives is unconstitutional. He accused Presidenti Bhandari of dissolving the House of Representatives upon the recommendation of the government that triggered the conspiracy to sabotage the constitution. Shortly after the meeting of the leaders of the opposition alliance, Dahal also announced a political and legal fight against the move .
An alliance of five political parties including the NC, Maoist Center, Nepal-led factgion of ruling CPN-UML, Yadav-led faction of Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Jana Morcha decided to strongly object to Saturday’s House dissolution move. A meeting of the alliance held on Saturday afternoon also announced political and legal fights against the move as it was ‘unconstitutional, undemocratic and regressive. Issuing a joint statement following the meeting, the parties condemned the dissolution of the HoR and blamed Presdient Bhndari for joining PM Oli to make a series of assaults on democracy and constitution.
UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has accused Prime Minister KP Oli of tampering with the constitution. In a statement issued on Saturday, Nepal said that Oli's move to dissolve the House of Representatives was a severe insult to the people’s fights and struggles for democracy, nationalism and their livelihood. Condemning the `undemocratic and unconstitutional move of Prime Minister Oli and President Bhandari , Nepal urged the pro-democracy leaders, activists and members of the party to unite and move forward against regression as democracy is in ‘crisis’.
The Bibeksheel Sajha Party has condemned President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s move to dissolve the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday and termed it as the crime jointed committed by the prime minister and president at a time the country is grappling with the pandemic of the coronavirus disease. The party has also demanded a judicial review of the dissolution move and urged the political parties and civil society to unite against the ‘unconstitutional’ move.
Constitution expert and senior advocate Dr Chandra Kanta Gyawali said that it was a wrong call of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to ask the lawmakers to show the support of majority in parliament while staking claim for the formation of a new government as per Article 76 (5) of the Constitution of Nepal.
Talking to Ratopati hours after the President, at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR), Dr Gyawali said that Prime Minister’s KP Sharma Oli’s claim for new government formation on Friday, too, was also unconstitutional. “He [PM Oli] had once lost a trust vote from parliament on May 10. As he said that the government recommended to the president citing that it could not win a trust vote amid the contemporary political situation, he should not have staked a claim for a new government on Friday.”
KATHMANDU, May 22: Constitution expert and senior advocate Dr Chandra Kanta Gyawali has said that it was a wrong call of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to ask the lawmakers to show the support of majority in parliament while staking claim for the formation of a new government as per Article 76 (5) of the Constitution of Nepal.
Talking to Ratopati hours after the President, at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR), Dr Gyawali said that Prime Minister’s KP Sharma Oli’s claim for new government formation on Friday, too, was also unconstitutional. “He [PM Oli] had once lost a trust vote from parliament on May 10. As he said that the government recommended to the president citing that it could not win a trust vote amid the contemporary political situation, he should not have staked a claim for a new government on Friday.”
According to Gyawali, President Bhandari should have sought a majority, instead should have approved the claim submitted by the alliance of opposition parties.
“On the one hand, the Prime Minister had failed to get a vote of confidence, on the other hand, the leader of the main opposition staked a claim with the support from 149. In that situation, the president should have called the leader of the opposition party to form an alternative government,” said he, adding that the prime minister elected under Article 76 (5) must take a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives within 30 days of his/her appointment.
Senior advocate Gyawali also argued that the political parties can not issue whip to the lawmakers as each member of parliament is entitled with the right to stake claim for new government formation as per Article 76 (5). “The parties can take action or issue a whip once the process of trust vote begins in parliament,” he said.
It is to be noted that President Bhandari dissolved the lower house of parliament as per Article 76 (7) and announced fresh parliamentary elections for November 12 and 19 upon the recommendation of Cabinet meeting held on Friday midnight.
Earlier, Bhandari rejected the claims staked for the new government formation as per Article 76 (5). Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli claimed to have the support of a majority of lawmakers in parliament. While PM Oli said that as many as 153 lawmakers --- 121 from the UML and 32 from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) --- supported him for new government formation, Deuba also claimed to have support of 149 lawmakers --- 61 from NC, 49 from CPN (Maoist Center), 26 from ruling CPN-UML’s Madhav Nepal faction, 12 from Janata Samajbadi Party’s Upendra Yadav faction and an independent lawmaker. The claims from both the leaders were rejected citing the lack of strong bases for new government formation as per Article 76 (5).
Claims for new govt formation were rejected
KATHMANDU, May 22: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR) at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
President Bhandari dissolved the lower house of parliament as per Article 76 (7) and announced fresh parliamentary elections for November 12 and 19, at 1 AM on Saturday morning upon the recommendation of Cabinet meeting held on Friday midnight.
Earlier, Bhandari rejected the claims staked for the new government formation as per Article 76 (5). Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli claimed to have the support of a majority of lawmakers in parliament. While PM Oli said that as many as 153 lawmakers --- 121 from the UML and 32 from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) --- supported him for new government formation, Deuba also claimed to have support of 149 lawmakers --- 61 from NC, 49 from CPN (Maoist Center), 26 from ruling CPN-UML’s Madhav Nepal faction, 12 from Janata Samajbadi Party’s Upendra Yadav faction and an independent lawmaker. The claims from both the leaders were rejected citing the lack of strong bases for new government formation as per Article 76 (5).
Following the rejection of claims for a new government, a Cabinet meeting was held at the prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar and decided to recommend to the president to announce snap polls for November 12 and 19 later this year.
This is the second time that PM Oli dissolved the House. Earlier, he had unconstitutionally dissolved the 275-member HoR on December 20 last year which was restored by the Supreme Court (SC) verdict on February 23.
KATHMANDU, May 14: Key leaders of Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center) and Janata Samajbadi Party (Upendra faction) have held a meeting at NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba's Budhanilkantha-based residence on Friday morning to review the latest political situation.
The meeting also decided to continue the three-party cooperation, analyzing that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli may again dissolve parliament.
It is to be noted that Prime Minister Oli had dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR) on December 20 last year. However, the Supreme Court on February 23 restored the lower house of parliament citing Oli’s move as unconstitutional.
NC President Deuba, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and JSP Chairman Upendra Yadav were present in the meeting.
Sharing the analysis made by the Budhanilkantha meeting, a leader told Ratopati that PM Oli may not wait till June 12 to get a vote of confidence. “Preparations are underway to convene a parliamentary session in the third week of May and will seek a vote of confidence,” he said, adding that Oli will dissolve parliament without following the procedures stated in Article 76 (5) of the constitution. “He will even issue an annual budget through ordinance,” he added.
Opposition leaders concluded that Oli will go for snap polls at any cost. The source said, "He [Oli] is not willing to win trust vote, therefore Oli has a strategy of keeping Mahanta Thakur neutral and preventing anyone from garnering a majority in parliament."
Leaders also reached a conclusion that ‘external factors’ also foiled the opposition alliance’s efforts to muster majority. “At the same time, UML’s Madhav Nepal faction also betrayed us,” the leaders said. However, the leaders agreed to continue dialogues with Madhav Nepal and Mahanta Thakur.
The meeting also decided to exert pressure on the government to expedite its efforts to combat the second wave of the coronavirus..
KATHMANDU, May 5: The Supreme Court on March 7 invalidated the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which was formed after a merger between the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center). Responding to the writ petition registered by Rishi Kattel, the apex court also revived the two parties, scrapping their merger deal.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli should have taken a vote of confidence of the House of Representatives immediately after March 7 after the erstwhile ruling NCP was no longer in existence. However, he did not consider seeking the confidence of the lower house of parliament.
However, President Bidya Devi Bhandari summed the special session of parliament for May 7 at the recommendation of the Council of Minister. The President's office stated that the House session was called as per the Article 93 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal as 'the prime minister considers it necessary to show that he has confidence from the House of Representatives as per the Article 100 (1).’
PM Oli is trying to garner a majority of votes in favor of him and win the trust of the originally 275-member HoR at a time when the country is ravaging with the deadlier second wave of the coronavirus disease and the budget session of the House is to be summoned at the earlier to discuss on the government’s policies and programs and annual budget and endorse before May 19 (Jestha 15), as mentioned in the Constitution of Nepal.
Oli’s announcement to seek parliament’s confidence has sent ripples in domestic politics. Why does Prime Minister Oli want to take a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives at this time? Is he trying to keep the government intact by getting a majority in his favor or is he looking for an excuse to dissolve parliament again and go to the snap polls? This is a psychological question, not based on mathematics. What we are discussing here is basically related to mathematics.
1. Securing a majority by splitting the JSP
Ruling CPN-UML has a total of 121 lawmakers, which means 15 votes short of securing majority votes and winning the vote of confidence. In this situation, Oli will try to convince a faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) close to Mahantha Thakur and Rajendra Mahato and save his position.
2. Re-appointment within hours of losing parliament's confidence
If Prime Minister Oli does not receive a vote of confidence, he will automatically be relieved of his position. However, as in the case of Lumbini, it is clear that Oli will be re-appointed as prime minister within a few hours as the parliamentary leader of the largest party in parliament.
The UML may hold a meeting of the parliamentary party and present its claim to the president in forming a new government under its leadership as per Article 76 (3) of the constitution. This has been ‘gloriously’ rehearsed in Lumbini Province.
3. Sacking or convincing lawmakers close to the party’s Nepal faction
What will happen if KP Oli takes action and suspends 30 MPs close to the Madhav Nepal-faction in the party before May 12? Or, if the MPs of Madhav's party resign en masse, what will be the result of the Oli-mathematics that day? The possibility of such plot-twist cannot be ruled out.
4.Dissolution of parliament and midterm elections!
If Prime Minister Oli does not receive a vote of confidence, will however get a chance to become prime minister again as the leader of the largest party. He will have another one month to form new equations and garner a majority of votes by a hook or crook.
play a game of splitting the other parties or reducing the pressure, buying and gaining a majority in his favor by June 27 or a majority in the opposition.
After losing the trust of the parliament again on June 10, he can’t recommend to the president for the dissolution of parliament as the Article 76 (3) don't allow him to go for that move. Eventually, even if Prime Minister Oli wins or loses on May 10, the government under his leadership seems afloat.
The Supreme Court's February 23 precedent and the provisions in the constitution do not allow Oli to dissolve parliament all of a sudden. However, analysts fear that he could still dissolve parliament and call a midterm election without fulfilling the process mentioned in the Article 76
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What is there in Article 76?
76. Constitution of Council of Ministers:
1) The President shall appoint the leader
of a parliamentary party that commands majority in the House of Representatives as the Prime Minister, and the Council of Ministers shall be constituted under his or her chairpersonship.
(2) In cases where no party has a clear majority in the House of Representatives under clause (1), the President shall appoint as the Prime Minister a member of the House of Representatives who can command majority with the support of two or more parties representing the House of Representatives.
(3) In cases where Prime Minister cannot be appointed under clause (2) no later than thirty days after the date of declaration of the final results of election to the House of Representatives or the Prime Minister so appointed fails to secure a vote of confidence under clause (4), the President shall appoint as the Prime Minister the parliamentary party leader of the party which has the highest number of members in the House of Representatives.
(4) The Prime Minister appointed under clause (2) or (3) shall obtain a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives no later than thirty days after the date of such appointment.
(5) In cases where the Prime Minister appointed under clause (3) fails to obtain a vote of confidence under clause (4) and any member under clause (2) presents a ground on which he or she can obtain a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives, the President shall appoint such members as the Prime Minister.
(6) The Prime Minister appointed under clause (5) must obtain a vote of confidence under clause (4).
(7) In cases where the Prime Minister appointed under clause (5) fails to obtain a vote of confidence or the Prime Minister cannot be appointed, the President shall, on recommendation of the Prime Minister, dissolve the House of Representatives and appoint a date of election so that the election to another The House of Representatives is completed within six months.
(8) Procedures on the appointment of the Prime Minister under this Article must be completed no later than thirty five days after the date of declaration of the final results of election to the House of Representatives held under this Constitution or the date on which the office of the Prime Minister hasfallen vacant.
Source: Nepal Law Commission
