Kathmandu, (Samajweekly) After opposition parties failed to form a coalition government, Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has reappointed KP Sharma Oli as the 42nd Prime Minister on the basis of leading the largest party in Parliament.
Oli, who was reappointed on Monday night, is planning to take the oath of office and secrecy on Friday afternoon, according to his office.
Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the primary opposition Nepali Congress party, was the frontrunner for the post of Prime Minister but he couldn’t garner a majority vote as fourth largest party, Janata Samajbai Party (JSP), was divided to support Oli.
However, the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) could not cobble together the numbers to prove a majority.
A faction of the JSP decided to stay neutral, making it difficult for Deuba to stake claim.
The Mahantha Thakur-Rajendra Mahato’s 19-member faction of the JSP decided to throw its weight behind Oli. The Party has 32 lawmakers overall.
Oli’s Communist Party of NepaleUML has 121 members in the House.
Since no party commands a majority in the House, as the parliamentary party leader of UML, Oli was elected Prime Minister as per constitutional provision.
He again has to prove his majority in the house within a month.
If he fails to garner a majority, either he will dissolve the House or any other individual lawmaker can stake claim over the post of Prime Minister.
But leaders close to Oli said that he preferred to dissolve the house and was interested in holding early elections.
