Nepal’s Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the lower house of parliament--for the second time this year--overturning the government’s earlier decision in May of dissolving the House. In its order, the court also directed President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the Nepali Congress, to the post of prime minister. 

The court has ordered the President to appoint Deuba as the Prime Minister by 5 pm Tuesday and summon the House of Representatives by 5 pm July 18, reported The Kathmandu Post. Earlier in May, Bhandari had rejected Deuba’s claim to form the government, and subsequently dissolved the house. 

The ruling came in response to the over 30 petitions which had been filed challenging the May house dissolution move.

The latest order will finally end the tenure of the country’s embattled caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who tried every means--many of them were unconstitutional and subsequently been reversed by the court-- to remain in power despite losing the majority long ago. 

This is the second time in the last six months when the court reinstated the House. In February this year, the court reinstated the House which was first dissolved in December last year on the recommendation of Oli's cabinet. However, in the absence of a united opposition, he managed to continue in his position. 

How things turned against Oli

In May, the CPN-MC, a party headed by former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, withdrew its support from Oli's government, forcing the latter to seek the trust vote. The Oli government lost the trust vote on 10 May. Thereafter, when opposition parties failed to form a consensus, he was again appointed as the prime minister. 

Meanwhile, Madhav Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal, two senior leaders of the Oli’s party, rebelled against Oli and joined hands with opposition leaders. 22 lawmakers of the rebel faction, along with other opposition MPs, extended support to Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the Nepali Congress, for the prime minister post. 

On May 21, the Congress-led alliance, backed by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), a section of the Janata Samajwadi Party, and the Madhav Nepal-Jhala Nath Khanal faction of the CPN-UM, presented the signatures of 149 lawmakers, requesting President Bhandari to appoint Deuba as new prime minister.

However, Bhandari chose to dissolve the House instead of appointing Deuba. 

What Next

Now that the apex court has ordered the President to appoint Deuba the Prime Minister, the latter may still find it difficult to win the trust vote in Parliament. Oli in recent weeks has intensified efforts to bring back the rebel faction headed by Madhav Nepal back within the party fold. Media reports indicated that Oli and Madhav Nepal were close to announcing a deal to keep the party united. 

If the CPN-UML, the party headed by Oli, manages to avoid a split, Nepali Congress leader Deuba might struggle to garner enough votes to win the trust motion. (SAM)