Kamal Dev Bhattarai: What Nepal Prime Minister Oli Hopes to Achieve by Dissolving Parliament

By Dilip -

Kathmandu: In an unprecedented move, Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli recommended on Sunday the dissolution of the House of Representatives and that mid-term elections should be held on April 30 and May 10, 2021. Oli came to power in 2018 with two-thirds support in parliament, becoming the first prime minister in the last three the decade to receive such a historic mandate. Despite objections from some cabinet colleagues, PM Oli took the decision unilaterally and convinced President Bidya Bhandari to endorse his recommendation. To the surprise of many, Bhandari immediately endorsed the PM’s move without taking time to examine the constitutionality of the move.

There was neither a no-confidence motion against Oli in parliament nor had the Nepali Communist Party officials asked him to quit. The prime minister took the step with the assumption that sooner or later, his own party would remove him from power. PM Oli’s move is a serious blow to Nepal’s newfound political stability, which was achieved after the national election in 2017 as per the new constitution adopted in 2015….

https://thewire.in/south-asia/nepal-parliament-dissolved-kp-sharma-oli-prachanda-elections-tussle

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