Khushi Bhuta, Pune
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal for a fourth term on the 14th of July. He is the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN – UML), Nepal’s largest communist party.
The swearing in ceremony of K. P. Sharma Oli took place on the 15th of July wherein he stated, “I, K. P. Sharma Oli, in the name of the country and people, pledge that I will be loyal to the constitution… and fulfill my duty as the Prime Minister”. Nepalese President Ram Chandra Poudel administered the oath at Shital Niwas, the main building of Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ lost the vote of confidence to the K. P. Sharma Oli in the House of Representatives on the 12th of July. The former PM had been appointed for the post in the March of 2024 when he had separated from the Congress and formed an alliance with the CPN – UML. 194 members of the 275-member Parliament voted against Prachanda, while 63 members supported him. There were 258 lawmakers present. One lawmaker didn’t vote.
The new Prime Minister was previously appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal in 2015, 2018 and 2021. With the support of NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Oli announced late on July 12 night that he would serve as the new Prime Minister. He did this by obtaining the signatures of 165 members of the House of Representatives (HoR), 77 of whom were from his party and 88 of whom were from the NC.
The communist party will be at the Center in coalition with the center-left Congress, which is the largest party in the country’s parliament. The coalition deal was made with Nepali Congress as Shah Bahadur Deuba was promised Prime Ministership later on in the term.
Nepal had abolished its monarchy and become a federal republic in 2008 following a ten-year civil war and a peace agreement that resulted in the Maoists taking power. The country has had a turbulent history of government since as it has witnessed 13 governments in the span of the 16 years.