Nepal President gives seven days to form new government

Kathmandu, Dec 18 ( IANS) Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday called for the new government formation as per Article 76 ( 2) of the Constitution.

Since no political party has gained absolute majority to form the government, President Bhandari called for government formation with the support of two or more parties represented in the house.

Within the ruling alliance, incumbent Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal are the front runners for the post of prime minister. The ruling alliance has just two votes less to form the government. The magic number to form the government is 138 out of the 275 House of Representatives.

As per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, in cases where no party has a clear majority in the House of Representatives under clause (1), the President shall appoint as the Prime Minister a member of the House of Representatives who can command majority with the support of two or more parties representing to the House of Representatives.

Article 76 (1) of the Constitution states that the President shall appoint the leader of a parliamentary party that commands majority in the House of Representatives as the Prime Minister, and the Council of Ministers shall be constituted under his or her chairmanship.

Issuing a press statement on Sunday evening, the President's office said that Bhandari has given a deadline of seven days to form the government by next Sunday at 5:00 pm.

"As no single party commands a clear majority in the House of Representatives as per the Article 76 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, the President, as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, calls on House of Representative members to show a majority in order to be appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal with the support of two or more political parties of the House of Representatives by 5pm on December 25, 2022," the statement read.

Once the parties submit a candidate for the Prime Minister with evidence that s/he can get the majority support in the House, the head of the state shall appoint him/her to the position and form a government under his/her leadership.

The Prime Minister then is required to prove the House's confidence in his/her government in the next 30 days.

It is highly likely that the current ruling alliance will form the new government. There are debates over who should be the premier, but current PM Sher Bahadur Deuba has a higher chance of retaining the position.

Nepal held elections of the House of Representatives on November 20, whose final results were submitted to President Bhandari by the House of Representatives just last week.