Breaking: Nepal Parliament Dissolved

File Photo: PM KP Sharma Oli With PM Modi. Image Credit: Prime Minister's Office (India).

Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday dissolved the country's national parliament on the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli following a political stalemate. The decision to seek the dissolution of the House of Representatives was taken at an emergency meeting of the cabinet.

Nepal's House of Representatives was elected in 2017 and currently has 275 members. The next national polls were due in 2022. However, President Devi announced that the general election will now be held between April 30, 2021, and May 10, 2021.

The legality of this dissolution is not clear as the Nepali constitution does not have a provision for the dissolution of the Parliament. Therefore, this decision can be challenged in courts. "The recommendation of dissolution of the parliament is against the constitution and it should be immediately withdrawn," senior Nepal Communist Party leader Madhav Kumar Nepal said, according to Nepali News Outlet MyRepublica.