K P Sharma Oli sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister for 4th time

     Kathmandu, Jul 15 (PTI) K P Sharma Oli on Monday was sworn in as Nepal's 45th Prime Minister, the fourth time for him, to lead a new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation.
     The leader of Nepal's largest communist party was appointed as prime minister on Sunday by President Ram Chandra Paudel to lead the coalition government with the Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in Parliament, apart from other smaller parties.
     Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda,' who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday, leading to the formation of the new government.
     Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), Oli was sworn in by President Paudel at Shital Niwas, the main building of Rashtrapati Bhawan at a ceremony that was delayed by more than half an hour.
     According to the news portal MyRepublica, the swearing-in ceremony was delayed due to the failure of the Nepali Congress to finalise the names of its ministers to join the government amid disputes within the party.
     The President also administered oaths to the two Deputy PMs – Prakash Man Singh and Bishnu Paudel – and 19 other ministers. Singh would also look after the Urban Development Ministry while Vishnu Prakash Paudel would look after the Finance Ministry.
     Arzoo Rana Deuba, wife of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba is the Foreign Minister in the cabinet while Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak is appointed as the Home Minister.
     There are 10 cabinet ministers from the Nepali Congress; eight, excluding the Prime Minister, from the CPN-UML, two from the Janata Samajwadi Party and one from the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party in the government. Local media also pointed out that the new cabinet is devoid of Dalit members and has only two women members.
     Soon after the swearing-in ceremony, Oli paid his tributes to martyrs by laying a wreath at Lainchaur-based Sahid Smarak. He then visited the UML’s central office in Chyasal to pay homage to three veteran Communist leaders, The Kathmandu Post reported.
     Later, as he assumed office in Singha Durbar, the officials at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers welcomed him.
     However, within hours of the swearing-in, three advocates -- Deepak Adhikari, Khagendra Prasad Chapagain and Shailendra Kumar Gupta – filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of Nepal challenging Oli’s appointment arguing that it was unconstitutional and sought its annulment.
     The advocates argued that the president should call for the formation of a new government under Article 76 (3) if a government formed as per Article 76 (2) fails the floor test in the House of Representatives.
     The apex court has set July 21 as the date for a preliminary hearing in the case.
     Earlier on Sunday, President Paudel had appointed Oli as the new Prime Minister under Article 76-2 of the Constitution of Nepal, according to a notice issued by the President’s Office.
     On Friday night, Oli had staked his claim to become the next Prime Minister with the backing of NC President Deuba and submitted the signatures of 165 House of Representatives (HoR) members -- 77 from his Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) party and 88 from the Nepali Congress. (NC).
     Oli will now need to secure a vote of confidence from Parliament within 30 days of appointment, which he is likely to secure easily as the minimum number to form a government in the 275-strong HoR is just 138.
     Prachanda faced the vote of confidence as earlier last week, Oli’s party withdrew its support to that coalition and inked a new seven-point deal with Deuba to form a new coalition government.
     According to the July 1 deal between NC and CPN-UML, the two parties will lead the government on a rotational basis until the next general elections scheduled for 2027.
     Nepal has faced frequent political turmoil as the country has seen 14 governments in the past 16 years after the Republican system was introduced.
     The priority for the new Oli government, just like it was for its predecessors, will be to breathe some life into a stagnant economy, The Kathmandu Post newspaper said in an editorial.
     “A message of political stability given through a two-thirds majority will help. Yet both in and outside the country, there is a justified suspicion over the longevity of this ‘unnatural’ Congress-Communist coalition’,” it said.
     “Oli as prime minister must be ready to make some tough personal adjustments in order to stop the cycle of instability in government,” it said, apparently referring to Oli displaying his “authoritarian streak” right after taking charge as the executive head.
     This means not just reining in his natural tendency to rebuff critics and rely on a small coterie on all vital matters but reaching out to coalition partners and even the opposition parties as often as he can,” the editorial said.
     In fact, if Oli tries to go it alone, before long this coalition too will implode."The onus is on Oli to prove his critics wrong," it added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)