Nepal s parliament dissolved, president calls for fresh elections
This is the second time in six months that the country s parliament has been dissolved. The political crisis comes at a time when Nepal is reeling from the burden of new COVID cases.
Nepal is currently in the grip of a growing COVID crisis
Nepal s president, Bidya Devi Bhandari, dissolved the country s parliament on Saturday and called for fresh elections in November. Bhandari s office said that the decision was made on the recommendation of the cabinet headed by caretaker Prime Minister K.P Sharma Oli.
Bhandari rejected bids for the prime ministerial post from Oli and opposition leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba from the Nepali Congress party, after both leaders failed to muster support to form a new government by the deadline.
Opposition calls decision unconstitutional, alleges the hand of external actors.
In a controversial move, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari decided to dissolve the lower house of the Nepal Parliament on Friday for the second time in five months and announced midterm elections on November 12 and 19, following a prolonged political stalemate. Both Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress separately staked claims of support from the majority of the lawmakers in the Assembly, but the President deemed that both claims were insufficient.
Mr. Oli had lost a trust vote in the Assembly on May 10, garnering the support of only 93 of the 232 legislators, but Mr. Deuba also could not form a government under his leadership after failing to secure enough support, leaving Mr. Oli to be reappointed on May 13. The vertical division within the Janbadi Samajwadi Party with the Mahanta Thakur-Rajendra Mahato-led faction unwilling to support the opp