Nepal’s top court reinstates parliament, orders appointment of new PM

Kathmandu, Jul 12 (EFE).- Nepal’s Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the house of representatives, which had been dissolved twice in the last five months amid a power tussle, and ordered the president of the country to appoint the head of the Nepali Congress party, Shery Bahadur Deuba, as the new prime minister.

This is the second time that the top court has reinstated the parliament after it was dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari in December and May on the recommendation of the incumbent prime minister, KP Sharma Oli.

As per the order, Bhandari has to reinstate the parliament within the next 17 hours and appoint Deuba, a former prime minister, as the country’s new leader, Supreme Court spokesperson Bhadrakali Pokhrel told EFE.

The court decision will result in the ouster of Oli, who was heading a caretaker government despite losing a vote of confidence in the parliament on May 10.

“The court has saved democracy. It has been confirmed that the court is independent. Now we will form a new coalition government with five parties,” Deuba said in a statement late on Monday.

The head of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and former guerilla commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal also hailed the court verdict as historic.

“This is a victory not only of the opposition alliance but of the country and the people,” he said in a statement.

The Nepali parliament was first dissolved on Dec. 20 at the request of the Oli government, which had called for snap polls on Apr. 30 and May 10, but the Supreme Court annulled the decision in February on the grounds of it being unconstitutional.

However, Bhandari again dissolved the house after the opposition failed to form a government and called fresh polls in May, which were set to be held on Nov. 12 and 19.

On Monday the top court reversed this decision as the opposition coalition announced that they had a majority to form a fresh government led by Deuba.