Political Overview

POLITICAL OVERVIEW POLITICAL OVERVIEW

Due to the internal conflict within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), this review period saw dramatic turnovers in the political scenario of the country. President Bidya Devi Bhandari, on the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House of Representatives and announced the dates for mid-term elections. This move received widespread criticism and was deemed unconstitutional by several political leaders and as well as, civil society leaders.

Following the dissolution of the lower house, cabinet members resigned, after which the government appointed officials to several Constitutional bodies, for which they were scrutinized again. Many political parties and civilians, especially the Dahal-Nepal led faction of the NCP led protests against the dissolution, while the Oli-led faction and his supporters organized mass gatherings and rallies in support of the Prime Minister.

The Supreme Court of Nepal reinstated the House of Representatives (HoR) after conducting hearings on the 13 writ petitions filed against the PM’s decision for over a month.

House of Representatives dissolved:

On 20 December, 2020, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called for the dissolution of Nepal’s parliament, which was swiftly endorsed by President Bidya Devi Bhandari citing Article 76 (1) and (7), and Article 85 of the Constitution. The President also announced the dates for the new elections which were to be held: on 30 April, 2021 and 10 May, 2021, a year ahead of schedule. The PM’s decision to dissolve the parliament came after the Dahal-Nepal faction of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) planned to move a vote of no confidence against him. The NCP has seen a vertical split following the decision of house dissolution. PM Oli’s move was widely criticized and deemed unconstitutional, as the current Constitution of Nepal does not give the Prime Minister any power to dissolve the Parliament. As many as 13 writ petitions were filed against the PM’s decision.1 Several opposition political parties--Nepali Congress, Rastra Samajbadi Party, Bibeksheel Sajha Party, as well as the Dahal-Nepal led NCP faction staged demonstrations and protests across the country ever since the dissolution of the Parliament.

Seven ministers resigned over

parliament dissolution: Seven ministers from PM KP Sharma Oli’s cabinet resigned following the dissolution of the House of Representatives condemning the PM's move as unconstitutional. Those ministers who filed their resignations were closely affiliated to NCP cochair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal. Agriculture Minister Ghanshyam Bhusal, Energy Minister Barshaman Pun, Drinking Water Minister Bina Magar, Culture and Tourism Minister Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai, Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, Forest Minister Shakti Basnet, and Labour Minister Rameshwor Ray Yadav were few Cabinet members who immediately resigned.2

The Supreme Court reinstated the Parliament: On 23 February, 2021, the Supreme Court of Nepal reinstated the House of Representatives (HoR)

that Prime Minister KP Oli had dissolved on 20 December, 2020. A five-member constitutional bench comprising of Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana, and Justices Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Tej Bahadur KC, Anil Kumar Sinha and Sapana Pradhan Malla conducted hearings on the 13 writ petitions filed against the PM’s decision for over a month before giving the final verdict. Subsequently, the government recommended the House session to be summoned on 7 March, 2021.

Officials of Constitutional bodies

appointed by the Government: On 3 February, 2021, the government administered oath to officials for different constitutional bodies including the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and the National Human Rights Commission, as per the recommendations made by the Constitutional Council on 25 December, 2020. However, these appointments drew widespread criticisms as the officials were appointed bypassing parliamentary hearings, which is a mandatory process required by the constitution for appointments made by the Constitutional Council.3

The House of Representatives Speaker Agni Sapkota had sent back the appointment recommendations since they were received after the House was dissolved by the Prime Minister. Sapkota filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking invalidation of the unconstitutional appointments. He also sought action against 39 dignitaries involved in this appointment including Prime Minister Oli, President Bhandari, Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana, National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timalsina and Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi.4 The Supreme Court on 7 February, 2021 began the hearing on the writ petition and issued a show cause notice to the government seeking answers for the appointments.5

NCP’s Oli and Dahal-Nepal led faction staged mass gatherings in

the Capital: Ever since the dissolution of the House of Representatives, 4 February, 2021, the Dahal-Nepal faction called for a general strike across Nepal, after the government administered oath to over 30 officials appointed to several constitutional bodies unconstitutionally bypassing the lower house. The cadres of the Dahal-Nepal faction resorted to vandalism in several places during the strike. Meanwhile, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called for a rally of over 200,000 people in Durbar Marg, for the very next day as a show of power. The Dahal-Nepal faction, as a reply to Oli’s power show organized another mass rally on 10 February, 2021.6

OUTLOOK

The conflict between the ageing leaders of NCP has led to the instability of the entire political system in the country. The country has fallen victim to the bickering of PM KP Oli and NCP chair Prachanda and their struggle for power. Although the Supreme Court issued its verdict against the Prime Minister’s decisions and reinstated the parliament, the struggle for power between KP Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal is still ongoing in full throttle. It is clear that the average Nepali person has had enough of this, even though these types of shows are not uncommon in Nepal. At a time when the economy and health system of the country has been crumbling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the risk of the spread of the virus still a matter of concern, the decision to gather thousands of people as a show of power makes is clear that both the Prime minister and the NCP co-chair have no regard to the lives of the people and are only interested in seizing power.