KP Oli set to return as Nepal PM, new govt to be sworn in tomorrow

Kathmandu, July 13

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KP Sharma Oli, who is set to become Nepal’s new Prime Minister, was busy on Saturday consulting his alliance partner Nepali Congress in preparing the list of ministers to be inducted into the new coalition government that is likely to be sworn in on Monday.

President Ram Chandra Paudel is expected to appoint Oli, 72, as the new Prime Minister of the Nepali Congress (NC)-UML coalition by Sunday afternoon. “However, the President is likely to administer the oath to the new PM and other members of the cabinet on Monday morning. A small cabinet is likely to be announced on Monday before the oath-taking ceremony starts,” said sources close to the NC and UML.

Amid political turmoil in the Himalayan nation, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) chairman Oli, 72, is set to become PM once again after incumbent Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Friday failed to win a trust vote in Parliament.

Late on Friday night, Oli had staked his claim to become the next Prime Minister with the backing of Nepali Congress (NC) president Sher Bahadur Deuba and submitted the signature of 165 House of Representatives (HoR) members — 77 from his party and 88 from the NC — to form the government under Article 76-2 of the Constitution.

President Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday had called on political parties to stake claim to form the new government with a Sunday evening deadline to prove the majority. Of a total of 21 ministries, the Nepali Congress will get nine ministries and the UML eight plus the post of Prime Minister, a source close to Oli said.

“Key positions such as Home, Foreign, Finance and Energy will be divided between NC and UML. Nepali Congress is likely to get the portfolio of Home while the Finance will go to the UML,” the source said. — PTI

Ex-PM teams up with Deuba’s NC

• Oli had staked his claim to become the next PM with the backing of Nepali Congress (NC) chief Sher Bahadur Deuba
• He submitted signatures of 165 House of Representatives members — 77 from his party and 88 from the NC