Pro-China Leader KP Sharma Oli Returns As Nepal Prime Minister; Oath Ceremony Tomorrow

KP Sharma Oli replaces Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as the Prime Minister of Nepal after the latter lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.

Pro-China leader KP Sharma Oli was appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal after the Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament, lended their support to the CPN-UML chief on Sunday. Oli, 72, will take oath for a fourth term as the the prime minister of the country on Monday, according to an official statement.

The veteran leader succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Friday, leading to the formation of the new government process as per Article 76 (2) of Nepal’s Constitution.

As per an official notice, Oli was appointed as the new Prime Minister by President Ram Chandra Paudel under Article 76-2 of the Constitution of Nepal. The oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to take place at 11 am on Monday at Shital Niwas, the main building of Rashtrapati Bhawan, the notice issued by the President’s office said.

On Friday night, Oli staked his claim to become the next Prime Minister with the backing of NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba and submitted the signatures of 165 House of Representatives (HoR) members — 77 from his Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) party and 88 from the Nepali Congress. (NC).

CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Prachanda lost the vote of confidence in HoR during a floor test on Friday.

Last week, Deuba and Oli inked a seven-point deal to form a new coalition government replacing Prachanda. The two leaders agreed that the remaining term of the Parliament would be shared between them turn by turn. In the first phase, Oli will become the Prime Minister for 18 months as per the agreement.

Prime Minister Oli will form a small cabinet on Monday, according to sources close to him.

Other political parties including Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal, Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party, Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party are also likely to join the government.

Oli served as Nepal’s prime minister from October 11, 2015, to August 3, 2016 and then, from February 5, 2018, to July 13, 2021. He continued to serve from May 13, 2021, to July 13, 2021 — because of an appointment by the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari, described by local media as a success of Oli’s Machiavellian tricks. Later, the Supreme Court ruled that Oli’s claim to the post of prime minister was unconstitutional.

(With PTI inputs)