Mon 10 May 2021:
Nepal President K P Sharma Oli Monday prorogued the country’s Parliament after the government headed by Prime Minister K P Oli lost a vote of confidence following several months of bickering among factions within the ruling party.
At least 28 dissidents from the ruling Nepal Communist Party – Unified Marxist Leninist (NCP-UML), including former prime ministers Jhalanath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, abstained from voting, and are likely to lose their House seats for defying the party whip.
The prime minister has been criticized over the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with the country reporting record high new cases and fatalities in the past few days.
During a special session of the lower house, 124 lawmakers voted to withdraw their support for the prime minister, while 93 backed him and 15 abstained from voting. To win the floor, Oli needed to secure 136 votes.
Now, according to the Nepalese basic law, the president may call on the opposition to prove his majority support within 30 days. If it fails, the country will have a new election.
Oli’s fortunes have been waning since December last year when he got the President to unilaterally dissolve the House. The President also announced fresh elections in April and May. However, the dissolved House was reinstated by the Supreme Court early this year.
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