Report by Anirudh Bhargava
Nepal, Jul 14: 75-year-old Sher Bahadur Deuba has been appointed the Prime Minister of Nepal by Ms Bidya Devi Bhandari, the President, in accordance with Article 76 of Nepal’s constitution. This is the 5th time he has taken oath as prime minister.
In the past, he has served 4 terms – 1995-1997, 2001-2002, 2004-2005, and 2017-2018.
As neither KP Oli nor Sher Bahadur could muster majority support in the Parliament Trust Votes, they presented claims to the President (149 legislators for Sher Bahadur). Before the President decided, KP Oli asked her to invoke Article 76, which allows the President to appoint a PM. The President refused and decided to dissolve the government.
Then, the Supreme Court not only overruled the President’s judgement, but also ruled that the President’s rejection of Deuba’s 149 legislators in a 250-member parliament is unconstitutional as per Article 76. This led to Ms. Bhandari appointing Sher Bahadur as PM following KP Oli’s resignation. Sher Bahadur has 30 days to win a Vote of Confidence in the House of Representatives, or the Representative with most votes will be appointed as PM, as per the Article 76 of Nepal’s Constitution.
KP Oli (Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli) is the Chairman of The Communist Party of Nepal and Deuba is a member of the Nepali Congress. KP Oli has served as PM thrice, including this term.