Political chaos ends as Oli is again sworn in as Nepal’s PM
K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister on Friday, days after he lost a crucial vote of confidence in parliament. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office to Oli, 69, as the 43rd PM of Nepal at a ceremony at the presidential palace.
Oli was appointed PM by the president in his capacity as leader of the largest political party in Nepal’s House of Representatives, while neighbour India will be closely following the proceedings.
Oli was reappointed to the post on Thursday night as the opposition parties failed to secure majority seats in parliament to form a new government.
Oli, chairman of the CPNUML party, had lost a crucial trust vote in the House on Monday. Oli will now have to take a vote of confidence at the House within 30 days, failing which, an attempt to form a government under Article 76 (5) of the constitution would be initiated. The ministers of Oli’s cabinet were also sworn in during the ceremony.
In a break from tradition in Nepal during the oath-taking ceremony, Oli and deputy PM Ishwar Pokharel both avoided mentioning the word “god”. “I will take oath in the name of the country and the people,” said Oli after President Bhandari had uttered, “God, country and the people.”
All the ministers and ministers of state from the previous cabinet have been included in Oli’s new cabinet. Pradeep Gyawali has been reappointed foreign minister while Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bishnu Poudyal were named ministers for home and finance, respectively.
Vice-president Nanda Bahadur Pun and supreme court chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana were among the distinguished personalities who attended the ceremony.
Oli previously served as prime minister from October 11, 2015 to August 3, 2016, and again from February 15, 2018 to May 13, 2021.
Earlier, Nepal’s president had asked the opposition parties to come up with the support of majority lawmakers to form a new government latest by 9pm on Thursday after Oli had lost the vote of confidence on Monday.
Until Thursday, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, who got the backing from Cpn-maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda”, was hopeful of garnering a sufficient number of votes in the House to stake his claim as the next PM.
But after Madhav Kumar Nepal took a U-turn following his last-minute meeting with Oli, Deuba’s bid to become PM took a hit.
Oli’s CPN-UML is the largest party with 121 seats in the 271member House of Representatives. At present, 136 votes are needed to form a majority government.
If the parties fail to form a new government in line with Article 76 (5) or the PM elected under this provision does not secure the vote of confidence again, Oli would need to recommend the president to dissolve parliament and announce a date for general elections within the next six months.