Home Asia Nepal President Dissolves the Parliament Amidst the Pandemic

Nepal President Dissolves the Parliament Amidst the Pandemic

Nepal is faced with a constitutional disaster as its President dissolved the Parliament at the request of the Prime Minister. It was then announced that the general elections would be held more than a year later, in April or May 2021.

This decision was taken since Nepal was undergoing political turmoil as it is fighting the deadly coronavirus pandemic. The President’s office concluded the date of the elections after being followed by an emergency meeting. A fresh mandate was put forth after the ruling Nepal Communist Party accused the Prime Minister Oli of not paying enough attention to his party and the government decisions. This led to Oli losing his majority in the parliament. Within all the chaos that was going on in the politics of Nepal, Oli chose to dissolve the Parliament instead of seeking a compromise. 

Nepal politics has always been caught between China and India and has always had its influence. India has always pushed against Beijing’s growing presence in Nepal. The politicians have received quite a backlash from social media users who accuse the ruling party of breaking their trust and giving up too soon instead of trying out other political combinations to find solutions. Instead, they chose the dissolve the parliament and call for another set of elections while the country suffered the brunt of a lagging economy due to the pandemic. The army has been put on alert as Nepal saw an outbreak of protests.

India has decided to keep quiet on the unfolding of events in Nepal due to the rocky events that happened in 2019. However, it is assumed that China will not like how things took the course as the Chinese Ambassador in Kathmandu left no stone unturned to keep the National Communist Party united.