Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari has in a surprise move dissolved the House of Representatives and announced mid-term polls on November 12 and 19 after she determined that both embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the Opposition alliance were not in a position to form a government.
Bhandari’s announcement came after Prime Minister Oli recommended the dissolution of the 275-member House following an emergency midnight Cabinet meeting.
A press statement issued by the Office of President said the Parliament was dissolved and dates of mid-term polls were announced in line with Article 76 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal.
The council of ministers has recommended conducting the first phase of the poll on November 12 and the second phase on November 19.
The move followed a notice from the Office of the President which said that it could appoint neither KP Sharma Oli, the incumbent prime minister, nor Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nepali Congress president, as claims made by both to form a new government were insufficient.
With four lawmakers in the 275-member House of Representatives dismissed by their party after they chose to be part of another party, a prime ministerial candidate requires the support of at least 136 lawmakers in Parliament to form a new government.
Interestingly, both Oli and Deuba had claimed the support of some lawmakers, whose names were included in the list of both of them, according to Nepalese media reports.
This is the second time President Bhandari has dissolved Parliament on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli following a political crisis.
