Nepal president dissolves House, announces polls on Nov 12, 19

In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday midnight dissolved the Parliament as per the recommendation of the government and declared to hold midterm elections on November 12 and 19.

As per the constitutional provision, the President has authenticated the recommendation made by the Cabinet to dissolve the House and declare the snap polls for November 12 and 19, a notice issued by the President Office read.

This is for the second time that the House has been dissolved. Earlier, President Bhandari had dissolved the House on December 20 last year but later it was reinstated on February 23. The decision to dissolve the house came hours after a new government formation bid failed.

While invalidating both petitions registered by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba staking claim for the post of prime minister, Bhandari has stated that the claims made by the both Oli and Deuba have failed to meet the required provisions and as such, neither Oli or Deuba can form the new government.

On Thursday, President Bhandari had called on to form the new government as per the Article 76-5 of the Constitution. Before the deadline expired, Oli and Deuba claimed the formation of the new government with majority of the signatures.

Later, President Bhandari issued a statement saying that she did not see any reliable reason behind claims made by Oli and Deuba to form the new government and therefore she is not going to appoint a new Prime Minister.

The claim made by both Oli and Deuba was insufficient, a statement by the President Office said, hence the claim made by both leaders could not meet the required numbers. Based on the signatures and claims by the both sides, the President Office said that there is no concrete basis for both the claimants to get a vote of confidence from the Parliament as per the Article 76-5 of the Constitution.

--IANS

giri/pgh