KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has invited a group of senior lawyers and constitutional experts seeking advice on the alleged complication involved in new government formation.

According to Oli's press advisor Pramod Dahal, advocates Harihar Dahal, Badri Bahadur Karki, Yubaraj Sangraula, Sambhu Thapa among others have been invited for the consultation at 4 pm to the PM's residence in Baluwatar.

it has been learned that Oli would also seek suggestions of the lawyers to find a legally safe way to exit the government.

Earlier, on Saturday, Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Centre - who are in a bid to topple the incumbent Oli-led government through a no-confidence vote and form a new government in their leadership - had consulted lawyers over the same issue.

The meetings are taking place against the backdrop that some lawyers have been airing views that forming the new government before electing a new House of Representatives through a fresh elections might be quite complex as the Constitution has not imagined more than one government in the transitional period between the Constitution promulgated and the first election to the House of Representatives.

However, the lawyers consulted by NC and CPN MC on Saturday had told the parties that the Article 298 under the chapter of the Transitional Provisions of the Constitution still can be applied in order to form the government before the nation holds the election to the House of Representatives as stated in the Constitution promulgated last year.

Both camps of the lawyers, however, have ruled out formation of a new government under the Article 76 of the Constitution, which has provisions on constitution of Council of Ministers from the House of Representatives, as election to the House of Representatives has not been held yet.

Interestingly there are some common names between the groups invited by NC-Maoist and Oli. Harihar Dahal and Badri Bahadur Karki, for example,  in the meeting on Saturday had outspokenly argued that the Constitution is clear enough about formation of the new government under the Article 298 of Transitional Provisions.

Sambhu Thapa and Yubaraj Sangraula are considered close to Oli's CPN-UML party. Senior advocate Thapa was the Nepal Bar Association President during the 2006 Janaandolan whereas Sangraula was the Attorney General during the reign of Jhala Nath Khanal-led government in 2011.

298. Provisions relating to formation of Council of Ministers:

(1) The Council of Ministers existing at the time of commencement of this Constitution shall continue to exist until the Council of Ministers set forth in clause (2) is formed. 

(2) The Prime Minister shall, on the basis of political understanding, be elected no later than seven days after the date of the commencement of this Constitution where the Legislature-Parliament is not in recess at the time of commencement of this Constitution, and after the date on which the session of the Legislature-Parliament summoned in accordance with clause (6) of Article 296 commences where the Legislature-Parliament is in recess, and a Council of Ministers shall be formed under his or her chairpersonship. 

(3) In the event of failure to have an understanding under clause (2), the Prime Minister shall be elected by a majority of all the then members of the Legislature-Parliament.

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Ruling parties to meet today

Meanwhile, Oli has also called a meeting of ruling parties for 6 pm this evening.

The meeting, which will take place in Baluwatar, would discuss next steps to be taken as the government would face the no-trust vote at the Parliament on coming Thursday, a PM's Secretariat source said.