Refile: Nepal's PM seeks public support for early election amid protests
05/02/2021 13:02
(Corrects typo in headline)
By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Nepal's Prime Minister K.P.
Sharma Oli insisted on Friday he had the legal right to dissolve
parliament and said he was justified in calling an early
election in the face of widespread opposition from within his
own ruling Communist party.
Oli was addressing thousands of supporters in Kathmandu, a
day after leaders of a rival party faction called a national
strike to oppose what they said was his "unconstitutional" move
to seek a fresh poll amid a pandemic-induced economic crisis.
"The prime minister has the prerogative to dissolve the
parliament," Oli told a crowd gathered on a main road in the
capital.
The 68-year-old prime minister, who is facing almost daily
protests by political opponents and rights groups, said he had
been compelled to take a tough decision because many colleagues
were refusing to cooperate with him.
Nepal was plunged into crisis on Dec. 20 when Oli, who has
two years of his term left to run, declared he could no longer
work with rivals in his Nepal Communist Party (NCP), dissolved
parliament and called for a fresh election.
The Supreme court is now hearing more than a dozen petitions
challenging the legality of that action, with a verdict expected
this month.
If Oli wins the legal battle, the Himalayan nation of 30
million people, wedged between India and China, will go to the
polls, in two phases, on April 30 and May 10.
Oli's critics - including many in his own party formed in
2018 in a merger of the United Marxist-Leninist party and the
main Maoist party - say Nepal's 2015 constitution, intended to
preserve political stability, does not give the prime minister
the prerogative to dissolve parliament.
(Editing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Alex Richardson)
((gopal.sharma@thomsonreuters.com; + 977 1 4372152; Reuters
Messaging: gopal.sharma.reuters.com@reuters.net))