President Bhandari dissolves HoR, calls early elections
Elections on Nov 12, 19
Published: 07:41 am May 22, 2021
KATHMANDU, MAY 22
In compliance with the Cabinet's midnight recommendation , President Bidya Devi Bhandari in the wee hours of Saturday dissolved the House of Representatives - a reminder of the PM-President's December 2020 decision that had swayed the course of Nepali politics further towards uncertainty.
The Supreme Court had, later, annulled the duo's move.
Ending a day of high-voltage political actions and counter-actions, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in his last deal-sealing move on Saturday recommended the Office of the President to dissolve the House and announce dates for early elections.
The Office of the President announced in a statement on Saturday that the House of Representatives has been dissolved in accordance with Article 76(7) of the Constitution, which provisions House dissolution should the Prime Minister appointed as per clause 5 fail to gain trust of the House.
As per the Article, a date to conduct another election within six months must also be fixed. The President has called early elections pursuant to the article, the dates being set for November 12 and November 19.
Earlier on Saturday, PM Oli as well as opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba had staked claims to premiership, both of which were rejected by the President citing none had adequate grounds for winning vote of confidence.