Prez-PM tussle spills over during swearing-in ceremony
By Our Reporter
President of Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba has become Prime Minister of Nepal for the fifth time.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed him Prime Minister on Tuesday as per Article 76 (5) of the Constitution, after Monday’s verdict of the Supreme Court, which ordered for Deuba’s appointment.
In its verdict, the Supreme Court had issued a mandamus to the Office of the President ordering for the appointment of Deuba as Prime Minister.
The Supreme Court also reinstated the House of Representatives dissolved by the President on May 22.
President Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Prime Minister Deuba at a special ceremony organised at the President’s Office, Sheetal Niwas, Tuesday night.
However, the swearing-in ceremony was delayed by more than two hours after newly appointed Prime Minister Deuba objected to the appointment notice issued by the Office of the President as it did not mention Article 76 (5) of the Constitution under which he was appointed. The appointment notice read that Deuba was according to the mandamus of the Supreme Court.
The swearing-in ceremony scheduled for 6 pm began at 8.10 only after the Office of the President corrected it by stating that Deuba had been appointed as per Article 76 (5) of the Constitution. The dispute regarding the appointment notice between Deuba and the President suggested the relations between the two would not be cordial.
Of Course, the appointment notice used the language that outgoing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and UML leaders were using to term the SC verdict, which had clearly stated that Deuba to be appointed as per Article 76(5) of the Constitution.
Prime Minister Deuba formed a small Cabinet inducting two leaders each from the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre. He gave the portfolio of Home Ministry to Bal Krishna Khand, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry to Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry to Pampha Bhusal and Finance Ministry to Janardan Sharma.
Khand and Karki are from the Nepali Congress and Bhusal and Sharma from the Maoist Centre.
Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota, Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana, Chairman of National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timalsina, former Prime Minister and chairman of the Maoist Centre Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, former Prime Minister and senior UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, former Chairman of Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi, Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel, former Deputy Prime Minister Narayankaji Shrestha, former Speakers, former ministers, leaders of the Nepali Congress, Maoist Centre, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal and representatives of diplomatic missions were present in the ceremony.
However, outgoing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli did not attend the ceremony.
Earlier, Deuba served in the top executive post from September 1995 to March 1997, from August 2001 to October 2002, from June 2004 to February 2005 and from June 2017 to February 2018.
Born at Ganyapdhura Rural Municipality-1 in Dadeldhura district on June 13, 1946, Deuba served as Minister for Home Affairs in the Girija Prasad Koirala-led government from December 1991 to September 1994.
Deuba is one of the two leaders who have been elected in all parliamentary elections since 1991. Bijay Kumar Gachchhedar is another leader to win all elections.
Deuba has been president of the Nepali Congress since March 2016.
SC verdict draws both praise and criticism
The verdict of the Supreme Court on Monday interpreted Article 76 (5) of the Constitution while issuing a mandamus in the name of the President to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to appoint as Prime Minister. It also reinstated the House of Representatives terming its dissolution as unconstitutional.
The verdict came as a big slap to President Bidya Devi Bhandari and KP Sharma Oli. Oli lost the post of the Prime Minister, and the President is morally trapped after the verdict as it said what she did while dissolving the House and rejecting to appoint Deuba as new Prime Minister even after he submitted signatures of 149 lawmakers supporting his candidacy was not in accordance to the Constitution.
The Verdict also said that it was not the President but the House that should decide who enjoys the majority.
Secondly, it said the appointment of KP Sharma Oli as PM according to Article 76 (5) contradicted the Constitution, clearly stating that Article 76 (5) was not for the continuity of the incumbent PM.
Thirdly, party whip is not applicable while appointing the Prime Minister under Article 76 (5), which endorsed the act of 26 lawmakers close to Madhav Kumar Nepal to support Deuba.
Leaders of Nepali Congress, Maoist Centre, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal, Nepal faction of UML, lawyers and Civil Society welcomed the verdict as it gave a complete explanation to the articles related to the formation of the government. It also maintained the supremacy of the constitution.
However, the leaders close to the CPN-UML faction led by KP Oli argued that the verdict promoted a partyless system.
The verdict also stated that the Speaker could summon the House if needed. With this verdict, no government in future could undermine or boycott the parliament as done by Oli.
More importantly, the SC said that it could judge the acts of the President if they contradict the Constitution.
Although the verdict looks too bold in interpreting the Constitution, the UML leaders close to Oli and others have opposed this.
While Oli poured his ire against the verdict in his televised address on Tuesday, RPP’s Kamal Thapa compared it with an ox giving birth to a calf.
Outgoing Prime Minister Oli has expressed his unhappiness over the Supreme Court’s verdict on the dissolution of the House of Representatives.
“However, as we believe in constitutional supremacy and the rule of law, our party accepts the Apex Court’s verdict,” said Oli in his televised address.
He said that the Supreme Court’s order had upset the balance between three organs of the state.
“Also, the language used in the verdict has worried everyone who believes in democracy,” said Oli. He also said that the impact of the verdict would linger for a long time in national politics.
He accused the SC of doing politics by comparing the judges for acting as a player instead of performing the role of a referee.
Earlier, a group of UML cadres led by Mahesh Basnet demonstrate in the street challenging that they would not abide by the verdict.
Is Deuba PM for one month?
It is still uncertain whether newly appointed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will collect the trust of the House of Representatives within a month. Constitutionally, the new PM should obtain the vote of confidence within a month.
If the Madhav Nepal faction does not support, he may not succeed to obtain the vote of confidence. And if he fails to obtain trust, he will dissolve the House and announce elections. Thus, Deuba will remain PM at least for eight months till the conclusion of the elections.
However, considering the dispute in the CPN-UML, and its potential defeat in elections within six months, the UML could give him the vote of confidence so that the elections could be pushed for at least 15 months and time could be bought to sort out differences.
Even the Mahantha Thakur-led faction of the Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal could support Deuba in the hope of getting the ministerial berth and strengthening the party. And if Deuba will get votes from the Thakur faction, he will remain in power till February 2023.
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