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Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli surprised not only on his rivals but also his own party as he and got the President to dissolve Parliament. It is seen as a controversial move amidst a prolonged tussle for power between him and former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” within the ruling dispensation.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved Parliament”s House of Representatives at Oli’s recommendation and announced mid-term general election in April-May, a decision termed “unconstitutional, impulsive and autocratic” by the Opposition and dissidents in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
Earlier in the day, an emergency meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Oli decided to recommend the President for the dissolution of Parliament, a senior Standing Committee member of the NCP told PTI.
The first phase of the mid-term election will be held on April 30 and May 10 for the second phase, according to a notice issued by the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The 275-member House of Representatives, which is the lower house of Parliament, was elected in 2017 for a five-year term. The upper house is the National Assembly.
The move comes as the intra-party feud reached climax in the NCP which has been witnessing months long tussle between two factions, one led by 68-year-old Oli and Party’s chairman and another led by 66-year-old “Prachanda”, also the executive chair of the party and former premier.
Expressing dissatisfaction over Oli’s move to dissolve the House, seven ministers from his Cabinet resigned in protest.
