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On February 23, a five-member constitutional bench of the Nepal Supreme Court decided unanimously to reinstate the lower house of the country’s parliament. It ruled that the dissolution of the house in December 2020 was “unconstitutional” and called for reconvening parliament within 13 days.
The ruling is a huge setback to Prime Minister Kharga Prasad Sharma Oli. It was on Oli’s recommendation that President Bidya Devi Bandhari dissolved the house and called for fresh elections in April-May. The decision was widely criticized in Nepal and had sparked mass protests by political parties and civil society activists.
The apex court’s ruling overturning Oli’s controversial decision has been widely welcomed. “By passing a judgment in favor of the constitution,” the Supreme Court has “stood by the people, and re-established the notion of an independent judiciary,” the Kathmandu Post said in an editorial.
Prachanda has been making efforts to garner support from the opposition Nepali Congress and Janata Samajbadi parties in an apparent bid to oust K P Sharma Oli from power.
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Remove me if you can: Nepal PM Oli challenges Prachanda
Nepal s embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday challenged the ruling Nepal Communist Party s splinter faction led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to remove him from the top post if he can. Addressing an event in his home district, Jhapa, Prime Minister Oli challenged the Prachanda-led faction to table a vote of no confidence motion and endorse that, My Republica newspaper reported. K P Oli is still the parliamentary party leader of the NCP. He is the party chairman as well as the prime minister, 69-year-old Oli said. If you have restored parliament, remove KP Oli from the prime ministerial post.