Ratopati English

बैशाख २०७८

‘Oli may dissolve parliament before May 29 and go for snap polls’

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..

पूर्ण विवरण

सम्बन्धित सामग्री

Italy: Land Of Snap Polls

Italian public was witness to the manner in which political parties stingingly rebuffed wide scale appeal for preventing snap polls. September 25 is the date for yet another snap poll in the country’s long history of too many government changes and too frequent snap polls. Parliament witnessed turmoil when three of the Mario Draghi government’s coalition partners decided to boycott a crucial session of parliament in July. One thing led to another. Dismayed by the unbearable wrangling among the constituents of his 17-month-old “national unity” government, Prime Minister Draghi offered to resign.

The Rising Nepal श्रावण २०७९

UML Chairman Oli defends House dissolution moves

Ratopati English भाद्र २०७८

EC publishes schedule for November snap polls

KATHMANDU, July 5: At a time when the Supreme Court (SC) is almost finalizing the hearing on the House dissolution case, the Election Commission (EC) has published the schedule for the November midterm elections. President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the lower House of parliament on May 22 and declared that the mid-term polls will be held in two phases --- first on November 12 and the other on November 19--- on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. The poll body, on Monday, made the work schedule as per the government’s decision. According to the routine, the election period is scheduled to kick off from July 15. The EC will announce the registration of the political parties aspiring to contest for the polls. By September 8, the updated electoral roll will be published. Candidate nomination for the first phase of election will take place on October 6 and 7. Final list of candidates with their election symbols will be published on October 11. Nomination of candidates for the second phase of election to be held on November 19 is scheduled to happen on October 17 and 18. The final list of the candidates will be released on October 22. Candidates will also be provided their election symbol on that day.

Ratopati English जेष्ठ २०७८

Politics Takes Dramatic Turn

Nepali politics has taken a dramatic turn again. Amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the country has been thrust into the mid-term elections slated for November 12 and 19 this year. President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday night dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR) and called for the snap polls on the recommendation of the Cabinet. The HoR where the different communist parties jointly commanded near two-thirds majority was disbanded before completing its remaining more than one-and-a-half-year term. Premature demise of parliament also reminds a grim fact that no government has completed its full tenure in Nepal since 1951 when it ushered in democratic polity and open-up. This has exposed the nation’s lack of institutional ability and broad democratic consensus among the political actors, which are essential to deliver stability, prosperity and good governance.

The Rising Nepal बैशाख २०७८

Nepal parliament dissolved again, snap polls announced for November 12, 19

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.

Ratopati English बैशाख २०७८

Algebra of May 10: Four possible strategies of PM Oli

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 Click here to read the full version of this news story. 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

Ratopati English चैत्र २०७७