Kathmandu, July 14: President Ramchandra Paudel on Friday appointed CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli as the prime minister of Nepal.
This is Oli’s fourth stint as the country’s chief executive.
First appointed the prime minister in October 2015 (until August 2016), Oli was head of the government from February 2018 to May 2021 and from May 2021 to July 2021.
Paudel appointed him as per Article 76 (2) of the constitution after he staked a claim with the support of 166 lawmakers, including 88 from the Nepali Congress and 78 from the UML.
The newly appointed prime minister and his Cabinet ministers will take their oaths at 11 am on Monday.
On Friday, President Paudel called on a House member to claim leadership of a coalition government by 5 pm on Sunday. The minimum number needed to form a government in the 275-strong House of Representatives is 138.
After Pushpa Kamal Dahal left the prime minister’s Baluwatar residence on Friday evening, the President invited political parties to form a new government under Article 76 (2) of the constitution.
Dahal was ousted from the government after he failed to secure a majority in the motion he presented in the House of Representatives on Friday, seeking the confidence of the lower house.
Article 76 (2) says the President appoints as prime minister a member of the House of Representatives who can secure a majority with support from two or more parties.
Oli now needs to secure a vote of confidence from the Parliament within 30 days of appointment as per the constitutional mandate.
– The Kathmandu Post
