Key Takeaways
- Former PM KP Sharma Oli has been appointed to head Nepal’s new coalition government.
- The new coalition government marks a significant shift in Nepal’s political landscape.
- Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost the mandate to remain in power after a vote of confidence in the lower house.
Kathmandu: KP Sharma Oli, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) (CPN-UML) and a former prime minister, was tapped on Sunday evening to head a new coalition government.
“The president has appointed CPN-UML chairperson Oli as the prime minister under Article 76 (2) of the Constitution,” read a statement issued by the President’s Office.
Oli and some ministers shall take office on Monday morning, Kiran Pokharel, press advisor to President Ram Chandra Poudel, told Xinhua.
On Friday evening, President Ram Chandra Poudel called on political parties to form a new coalition by Sunday evening. Hours later, CPN-UML chairperson KP Sharma Oli staked the claim with the support of the main opposition Nepali Congress party.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost the mandate to remain in power on Friday afternoon after he lost a vote of confidence in the lower house, as the CPN-UML quit and withdrew support to his coalition government on July 3 after forming an alliance with the Nepali Congress for a new coalition.
