Monitor News Desk
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday recommended dissolution of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament at an emergency Cabinet meeting.
The recommendation to to dissolve the House came two years prior to its term.
“PM Oli was under pressure to withdraw an ordinance related to the Constitutional Council Act that he had issued on Tuesday and got endorsed by President Bidya Devi Bhandari the same day,” The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported on Sunday. It also said that Sunday’s Cabinet meeting was expected to recommend the replacement of the ordinance.
The ordinance to amend the Constitutional Council Act was introduced on December 15, and allegedly undermined the principle of checks and balances. It allowed the Constitutional Council to convene a meeting if a majority of its members attend it. PM Oli then held such a meeting on December 15 evening itself, according to The Kathmandu Post.
The Constitutional Council is headed by the prime minister and includes the chief justice, speaker, chairperson of the National Assembly, leader of the opposition, and the deputy speaker as its members. It recommends key appointment to various constitutional bodies.
