Kathmandu, March 20: Rastriya Swatantra Party senior leader Balendra Shah, widely known as Balen, is expected to take the oath of office as Nepal’s next prime minister on March 27.
Sources said a high-level party meeting held on Thursday evening fixed the date for the swearing-in. Party chair Ravi Lamichhane, along with co-chairs DP Aryal and Dr Swarnim Wagle, attended the meeting.
Earlier the same day, the Federal Parliament Secretariat announced the oath schedule for newly elected lawmakers. After consultations with six parties in the House of Representatives, the swearing-in of MPs has been set for March 26 at 2:00 pm, with the prime minister’s oath likely to follow a day later.
Following the confirmation of the parliamentary schedule, the RSP leadership, which holds close to a two-thirds majority in the House, met again to discuss government formation. Sharing a glimpse of the meeting on social media, Vice-Chair Dr Swarnim Wagle posted, “State affairs. Tonight’s discussion.”
The meeting came after the Election Commission formally submitted the final report of the 2082 House of Representatives election to President Ram Chandra Paudel on Thursday, clearing the path for a new government.
At a ceremony held at Shital Niwas, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari handed over the detailed report covering all 275 parliamentary seats, both direct and proportional.
President Paudel welcomed the report and commended the Election Commission, its staff, and security agencies for managing a credible election despite a difficult political environment. He said the successful conduct of the polls has strengthened public trust in democracy.
With the report now officially submitted, discussions among political parties on forming a new government are expected to begin. The RSP, with its near two-thirds majority, is in a position to form a single-party government under Article 76(1) of the Constitution.
The Commission’s report, which includes 165 directly elected members and 110 selected through proportional representation, will also be published in the official gazette, completing the formal validation of the election results and paving the way for the incoming government.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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