Kathmandu, July 24
The Legislature-Parliament has rejected the alternative of Speaker calling parties to start the formation of a new government, for now.
Notably, some Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre leaders have said Speaker Onsari Gharti should call for the formation of a new government, pointing that President may buy time if she has a say on the matter. However, Bharat Raj Gautam, spokesperson for the Parliament Secretariat, said this alternative is impossible (for now).
Discussions on the no-confidence motion tabled against the KP Oli government are ending today. The Parliament meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 am. At the end of discussions, Prime Minister Oli will respond to questions and issues raised on the occasion.
The Parliament won’t have to go for voting on the motion if PM resigns. If he does not, voting will take place. If the motion gets a majority in its favour, the PM will lose his job automatically.
In the meantime, Spokesperson Gautam said the Parliament Secretariat has made adequate preparations for voting on the motion. If voting takes place today, Speaker will apprise President of its result today itself. As things stand, it’s almost certain that House will pass the no-trust motion against PM Oli with a majority. This is because United Democratic Madheshi Front, MJF-Democratic and RPP are supporting the Nepali Congress and the CPN-Maoist Centre, which tabled the motion.
Ball in Prez’s court
Once the result of the vote comes out, the ball will be in President Bidhya Bhandari’s court. Gautam told Onlinekhabar: ‘If the House passes the no-confidence motion, there’s no possibility of Speaker herself calling parties for the formation of a new government. This means the ball will be in the President’s court.
However, legal experts are not on the same page over constitutional provisions governing the formation of a new government. Pointing at transitional provisions, PM Oli and lawyers close to him have been saying that the new Constitution does not have provisions regarding formation of a new government, though it envisages collapse of a government in power.
NC, the Maoist party and other parties, striving to form a new government, do not agree.
Parliament Secretariat expects President to call parties for the formation of a consensus government in keeping with Clause 2 of Section 298, though it comes within the jurisdiction of Sital Niwas, the President’s Palace.
President has the right to engage in legal consultations over the matter and ask questions to the Supreme Court, the final interpreter of the Constitution.
Speaker’s role
The process of forming a majority government begins only when President-given deadline for formation of a consensus government expires. For this, President has to write a letter to the Parliament. Only after getting the letter can Speaker initiate the process for formation of a majority government.
