Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After the Supreme Court’s Monday order to reinstate the House of Representatives and appoint Sher Bahadur Deuba, 74, as the Prime Minister within two days, President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Tuesday appointed the Nepali Congress President as the Himalayan nation’s PM, replacing the controversial incumbent K P Sharma Oli.
President Bhandari had appointed him as the next PM in accordance with Article 76(5) of the Constitution, The Himalayan Times reported.
The veteran politician will take an oath after the ceremony’s date is announced. His appointment was in consonance with the ruling issued by the apex court to make way for his claim to the premiership.
Earlier, Deuba had served as Nepal’s PM four times from June 2017-February 2018, June 2004-February 2005, July 2001-October 2002, and September 1995-March 1997.
The new PM will have to seek a vote of confidence from the House within 30 days of his swearing-in, as per the Constitutional provisions.
The Supreme Court had, on Monday, overturned PM Oli’s May 21 decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and ordered the appointment of Deuba as the new PM.
The five-member Constitutional Bench, headed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, said that Oli’s claim to the post of PM was unconstitutional. The apex court had restored the House earlier on February 23 after Oli dissolved it on December 20. The Bench also ordered to make arrangements for convening the House meeting by 5 PM on July 18.
In its order, the Constitutional Bench said that President Bhandari’s decision to reject Deuba’s claim to form a new government was unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s Election Commission on Tuesday postponed the parliamentary election scheduled for November 12 and 19 in the country following the reinstatement of the House of Representatives.
At the recommendation of PM Oli, President Bhandari had dissolved the Lower House for the second time in five months on May 22 and announced snap elections on November 12 and 19. As many as 30 petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the move.
Nepal had plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).