Nepal: fresh parliament election to be held in November

In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday midnight dissolved the parliament and announced mid-term polls on November 12 and 19. Bhandari’s announcement came on Friday midnight after she endorsed the recommendation to dissolve the parliament made by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. A press statement issued by the Office of President said the parliament was dissolved and dates of midterm polls were announced in line with Article 76 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal.The council of ministers has recommended conducting`the first phase of the poll on November 12 and the second phase on November 19.

Nepal’s political crisis had taken a dramatic turn on Friday as embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the Opposition parties staked separate claims for the formation of a new government by submitting letters of support from lawmakers to the President. Prime Minister Oli had reached the President's Office Shital Niwas and presented his list, a couple of minutes ahead of the Opposition leaders. It said the decision was made on the recommendation of the cabinet headed by caretaker Prime Minister Oli, whose December 2020 dissolution of parliament sparked weeks of protests and was reversed by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in February. Nepal is battling a deadly second wave of the pandemic and is reporting 8,207 new infections on average each day.