NEPAL'S opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is all set to be sworn in as a new Prime Minister of the Himalayan Nation for the fifth time, in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement which was pronounced on Monday.
The Apex Court in its verdict ordered President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to appoint Deuba as the successor of now caretaker PM KP Sharma Oli.
Sources from the President’s office told new agency ANI that preparations for the oath-taking ceremony are underway. “New Prime Minister will be sworn in before the deadline set by the court. Letter of mandamus from the Apex Court also has reached President Office” they said.
Nepal’s Election Commission on Tuesday postponed the Parliamentary election scheduled for November 12 and 19 in the country following reinstatement of the House of Representatives by the Supreme Court.
The elections scheduled for November following the dissolution of the House of Representatives will not be held immediately as the Parliament has been reinstated , Election Commission spokesperson Raj Kumar Shrestha said.
In a landmark decision, the five-member Constitutional Bench had ruled that rejection of Deuba's claim to be appointed Prime Minister with the support of 149 lawmakers of the 275-member House of Representatives as per Article 76(5) was unconstitutional.
Deuba will have to secure majority votes to survive as PM for the remaining term of Parliament. However, Deuba is short of a majority as the rival faction of ruling CPN-UML has backed off. After months of inter-party rift, the rival faction of ruling CPN-UML under the leadership of Madhav Kumar Nepal has separated itself from the alliance formed to fight against caretaker PM Oli.
A total of 146 members of the House of Representatives reached out to Supreme Court with a writ petition to demand the restoration of the house and appoint Sher Bahadur Deuba, as the next PM on May 24.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party(NCP).
In February, the Apex Court reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives, in a setback to Prime Minister Oli who was preparing for snap polls.
Mr. Oli repeatedly defended his move to dissolve the House , saying some leaders of his party were attempting to form a “parallel government”.
Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/nepal-opposition-leader-deuba-to-be-sworn-in-as-new-prime-minister-for-fifth-time20210713113902
