[The decision was a blow to the
country’s prime minister, who dissolved the legislature after a protracted
internal dispute within his ruling Nepal Communist Party.]
By Bhadra Sharma
Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli of
Nepal dissolved Parliament
on Dec. 20 following protracted internal disputes within his ruling Nepal
Communist Party, but the court concluded that he had overstepped his powers.
“The court has termed the house
dissolution as an unconstitutional act,” said the court’s spokesman, Bhadrakali
Pokharel, adding that the legislature needed to be reinstated within two weeks.
The decision means that Mr. Oli
will likely face a no-confidence motion when legislators reconvene.
Rajan Bhattarai, a foreign affairs
adviser to Mr. Oli said the prime minister would respect the court order. “He
won’t weigh any undemocratic move like imposing an emergency or anything else,”
he said.
Mr. Oli dissolved Parliament about
two years before its mandated five-year term was to end in order to head off an
expected no-confidence motion by rival leaders in his party.
Mr. Oli was
elected to a second stint as prime minister in 2017 by crafting a
majority in an alliance with former Maoist rebels and promising to tackle the
endemic corruption that plagues the country and forge stronger ties with China.
Nepal’s political turmoil comes
amid rising tensions between China and India, two powerful neighbors whose
rivalry has become increasingly strained. That has intensified as China has
pressed its claims
toward disputed land along their rugged border in the Himalayas.
During his tenure, Mr. Oli
increasingly tilted toward China, at the expense of India.
Mr. Oli has initiated several major
development projects as part of Chinese efforts to develop trade and transit
links in the region, essentially ending what had been an Indian monopoly in the
country.
“Oli’s exit could be a matter of
satisfaction for India,” said Bipin Adhikari, former dean of Kathmandu
University School of Law and a constitutional expert. A “weak coalition
government could be more supportive of them than Oli.”
Mr. Oli has been losing his grip in
the party and in Parliament in recent days. The dissolution split the ruling
party into two factions, with the group opposing Mr. Oli and his decision to
dissolve Parliament led by a former Maoist rebel, Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Legal experts and political
activists gathered outside the Supreme Court in Kathmandu to celebrate the
decision on Tuesday. Mr. Oli’s decision to dissolve Parliament had been widely
condemned by many in his own party and in the opposition.
One senior leader of the Nepal
Communist Party, Raghuji Pant, called on Mr. Oli to step down.
“Based on moral grounds, the prime
minister should resign immediately,” Mr. Pant said. “Our party can remain intact
if the prime minister agrees to support another leader as prime minister. If
not, a new power equation is inevitable.”