Interestingly, these 22 UML lawmakers included eight leaders close to former PM KP Sharm Oli.

Here is the list of UML leaders who voted in favor of PM Deuba:

22 UML Leaders Voted in Favor of PM Deuba

The post 22 UML Leaders Vote in Favor of PM Deuba, The Oli-led Party Demands Clarification! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

A cabinet meeting of the new government held on Friday made the decision to this effect.

Earlier, before his dethroning, Oli was planning to appoint 11 ambassadors after 45 days of the recommendation, even in the absence of the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee after the dissolution of the House of Representatives. On the same lines, KP Oli had appointed various officials in various constitutional bodies.

According to the Parliamentary Laws, any appointment subject to the hearing can be endorsed if the Hearing Committee fails to give a concrete decision in 45 days.

However, the then Oli-led government misinterpreted those appointments can be made after the period even when the Hearing Committee did not exist.

With the reinstatement of the HoR, the Deuba-led government had rejected Oli’s decision to appoint the ambassadors even though the Hearing Committee has also been revived.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already sent letters to the concerned nations requesting agreements in the listed names to make appointments as soon as the 45 days are completed.

Stay Tuned to NepaliSansar for Latest Nepal Political News!

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The post PM Deuba Withdraws His Predecessor Oli’s Decision to Appoint 11 Ambassadors! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The bench of five judges led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher had concluded hearings on the petition filed by 146 lawmakers, including Deuba.

Reacting to the SC’s verdict, CPN-UML spokesperson and former foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali claimed that the move is unexpected and contrary to the Constitution.

“Wrong and unjustifiable, but will abide by it,” said Gyawali.

On Tuesday, President Bidya Devi Bhandari has appointed Deuba as the Prime Minister of Nepal, as per Article 76(5) of the Constitution of Nepal.

By the evening, the incoming PM Deuba has taken Oath of Office and Secrecy amid a special ceremony at the Office of President, Shital Niwas. President Bhandari administered the oath.

Earlier, Deuba had rejected the oath as the statement issued by President’s Office failed to mention anything about Article 76(5). Instead, the statement mentioned only the mandamus of the SC to appoint Deuba as the new PM.

Meanwhile, PM Deuba picked four ministerial candidates.

NC Chief Whip Bal Krishna Khand has been appointed as Home Minister and former finance minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki as Law Minister. Likewise, Maoist Center party leader Janardan Sharma has been appointed as Finance Minister and Pampha Bhusal as Energy Minister.

President Bhandari also administered an oath of office and secrecy to these four ministers.

The Himalayan nation nosedived into a political crisis on December 20, 2020, after President Bhandari dissolved HoR and announced fresh elections at the recommendation of the then Prime Minister KP Oli.

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The legal team representing the Nepali Congress President Sher Debua concluded their arguments on Sunday. The Petitioners’ legal team completed their pleading over an allotted time of 12 hours. The government side has been allotted 15 hours and is expected to take the rest of this week.

The defense legal team’s arguments will be countered by the petitioner’s arguments at the end. The final verdict is expected to be out in two weeks.

The bench which is hearing these arguments is compromised of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana and justices Deepak Kumar Karki, Mira Khadka, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, and Ananda Mohan Bhattarai.

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The post Nepal Supreme Court Hears Government’s Arguments on House Dissolution appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Prime Minister KP Oli centralized the ministerial duties to the remaining five ministers, including himself.

Supreme Court declared the appointment of new ministers unconstitutional by issuing an interim order.

The PM has received the Presidential ratification for the new ministerial arrangements. The five ministers will hold oversee the ministries as follows:

The post Nepal Prime Minister distributes all portfolios to the remaining cabinet ministers appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Instead, it issued a show-cause notice to the incumbent government pertaining to the case of HoR dissolution.

The writ was petitioned by the rival faction of CPN-UML, who sought to reinstate the dissolved HoR.

The case was presided over by a constitutional bench which earlier formed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana.

The apex court has adjourned the hearing of this case to June 23.

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He said that people favor elections, and the Supreme Court’s decision on the HoR dissolution case will be in favor of people and the country as a whole.

During the meeting, he said that the reinstatement of the dissolved HoR will not only be against the public interest but also lead the nation towards instability. He further informed that it is beyond his imagination that the Supreme Court would pass a verdict to reinstate the Parliament.

“We cannot even imagine that the Supreme Court will pass verdict otherwise under any pressure,” said PM Oli.

He also said that his party would launch an agitation if the Apex Court gave its verdict against the HoR dissolution.

Other prominent leaders of the Oli-led faction, including Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and senior leader Subas Chandra Nembang, too addressed the mass gathering.

The mass gathering was organized to showcase their strength and inform people about the reasons behind HoR’s dissolution and calling of the mid-term elections.

Meanwhile, the Dahal-Nepal faction of the NCP formed a human chain around the outer sphere of Tundikhel as a protest against the HoR dissolution by the Oli-led government. Hundreds of participants formed the human chain and chanted anti-government slogans during the protest.

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From the economic crisis and catastrophic loss of life caused by the pandemic to the revised Nepal’s political map controversy, the heightened intraparty disputes in ruling NCP, the Rukum incident, the monsoon mayhem, and the dissolution of HoR by PM Oli, 2020 was as sobering as it was defining.

But amid a series of rolling disasters, there was hope, there was sacrifice, there was courage, and there was grace. Though 2020 is the year of uncertainty, it will indeed be recalled with no small measure of pride.

Here is an infographic about some of Nepal’s most prominent news and events in 2020:

Download 2020 Year in Review Nepal

January 2020

• 1^st – ‘Visit Nepal Year 2020’ inaugurated
• 21^st – 8 Indian tourists die at Daman resort
• 23^rd – National Assembly elections held to elect 18 NA members
• 23^rd – First COVID-19 case confirmed
• 26^th – Agni Sapkota elected as Speaker
• 26^th – Sets ‘Guinness Record’ for Highest Altitude Fashion Show

February 2020

• 13^th – Anushma Wins ‘Miss Eco International Nepal 2020’ Title
• 20^th – IT Minister Baskota resigns over audiotape scandal
• 29^th – Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign suspended

March 2020

• 20^th – All international flights suspended till March 31
• 24^th – Nationwide lockdown begins

April 2020

• 2^nd – Essentials goods companies resume operations
• 6^th – Maha Prasad Adhikari becomes the new Governor of the NRB
• 7^th – Grade 11 and 12 exams postponed
• 16^th – Sushil Ghimire becomes Executive Chairman of Nepal Airlines
• 17^th – Minister Mahendra Bahadur becomes Nepali Ambassador to China
• 25^th – Suspension on domestic and international flights extended
• 26^th – Nationwide lockdown extended till May 7

May 2020

• 6^th – Nationwide lockdown extended till May 18
• 7^th – COVID-19 cases crossed 100-mark
• 16^th – First COVID-19 death reported
• 17^th – Nationwide lockdown extended till June 2
• 20^th – Nepal’s new map released
• 20^th – Six Dalit youths were killed in Western Rukum
• 28^th – COVID-19 cases crossed 1,000-mark
• 28^th – Finance Minister presented Federal Budget of NPR 1,474.64 billion

June 2020

• 5^th – Govt. begins repatriating Nepalis in foreign countries
• 18^th – President endorsed second Constitution Amendment Bill
• 23^rd – COVID-19 cases crossed 10,000-mark
• 27^th – Agriculture Ministry reported locusts entered four districts of Nepal

July 2020

• 2^nd – President prorogued the sixth session of Federal Parliament
• 21^st – Nationwide lockdown was lifted

August 2020

• 15^th – COVID-19 deaths reached 100-mark
• 18^th – Daily COVID-19 cases crossed 1,000-mark

September 2020

• 1^st – Deaths due to monsoon mayhem reached 282
• 19^th – China encroaches into Nepal’s territory
• 24^th – CAN signs contract with female cricketers for first time

October 2020

• 3^rd – Prince of Bahrain and team climbed the 6,119-meter-high Mt. Lobuche
• 4^th – Provincial 5 renamed as Lumbini with Deukhuri as capital
• 15^th – Prince of Bahrain and team climbed the 8,163-meter-high Mt. Manaslu
• 16^th – President inaugurates historical pond Ranipokhari

November 2020

• 4^th – COVID-19 deaths reached 1,000-mark
• 5^th – Indian Army chief Naravane conferred honorary rank of ‘General of Nepali Army’
• 23^rd – Anshu Gurung Becomes British Gurkha Army Captain
• 24^th – Sapana Roka Named in BBC’s 100 Influential Women

December 2020

• 5^th – Namrata Shrestha won ‘Miss Nepal 2020’ title
• 8^th – Nepal, China announced the new height of Mt. Everest to be 8,848.86m
• 17^th – Kathmandu Valley recorded year’s lowest temperature at 2.3 degrees
• 17^th – Nepal unveiled first ‘National Water Resources Policy-2077’
• 20^th – President Bhandari dissolved the HoR on the recommendation of PM Oli
• 20^th – 7 Cabinet Ministers resigned protesting the HoR dissolution
• 22^nd – Dahal-Nepal faction expelled PM Oli as NCP Chairman and Parliamentary Leader
• 23^rd – Nepal imposed travel restrictions to and from the UK

Either way, 2020 clearly was an unforgettable year that we will find extremely hard to wipe off our collective memory. It will certainly find its way into our references, our anecdotes in the future ahead.

NepaliSansar Wishes a Better, Safer, and More Fulfilling 2021!

Also Read: Nepali Currency Exchange Rate Calculator

The post 2020 Year in Review: An Unforgettable Year for ‘Nepal’ appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The bill aims to impose a severe penalty for social media misuse and computer hacking.

Key Proposals of the Information Technology (IT) Bill:

Offenses & Punishments

1) Posting content on social media sites that may pose a threat to the sovereignty, security, unity or harmony of the country:  Fine up to Rs. 1.5 million or jail term up to five years or both

2) Found guilty of cyberbullying: Fine up to Rs. 50,000 or 6-months jail term or both

3) Deleting or interfering with information stored in somebody’s computer:  Three (3) years jail term

The bill facilitates the Department of Information Technology with the authority to impose excessive restrictions on social platforms and increase surveillance on personal data.

The tabling of the bill led to a tussle between House of Representatives (HoR) and Nepali Congress lawmakers.

NC member Ram Bahadur Bista said that the bill is against the people’s freedom of expression and opinion.

He exclaimed that the bill is bad for democracy and against the spirit of constitution.

Executive Director of Freedom Forum Taranath Dahal said that the bill has 0-12 clauses that restricted the freedom of expression.

He further expressed his fear that the HoR will try to pass other restrictive bills ignoring the opposition lawmaker’s voice.

“With this bill, the ruling party will have unfair advantage to suppress the voice of people using social media sites to express their dissatisfaction on the governmental works,” he said.

The Nepal IT Bill 2019 will replace the prevailing Electronic Transaction Act, 2006.

The post Pratinidhi Sabha Passes ‘IT Bill’ Amidst Opposition Outcry appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The FPTP election vote count for 165 House of Representatives (HoR) and 330 Provincial Assembly (PA) seats declared the victory of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) in the recent polls.

With 80 HoR seats & 167 PA seats by UML and 36 HoR & 74 PA seats by its poll partner CPN (Maoist Centre), the left alliance finally emerged as the single largest party as per the FPTP results.

With this, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) could find its presence only in 23 HoR and 41 PA constituencies, followed by Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-Nepal) that received 11 HoR and 16 PA seats.

While the independents proved their presence in 1 HoR constituency and 3 PA constituencies, 6 women candidates made it to HoR.

According to EC, the vote counting of both HoR and National Assembly has come to final stages with 164 parliamentary and 329 provincial representatives elected so far in the polls held for 165 parliamentary and 330 provincial seats.

PR Counting Underway

Overall, the left alliance won 116 of 165 FPTP seats for HoR and was leading the Proportional Representation (PR) count, held for 60 districts, for 110 seats.

Out of the 7,684,328 PR votes counted so far, “CPN-UML has so far secured 2,631,991 votes followed by NC (2,546,069), CPN-MC (1,045,446), Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (351,525) and the RJP-Nepal (295,448),” informed Nepal Election Commission (EC) Spokesperson Nawaraj Dhakal.

The PR vote counting is currently underway in around 17 districts and the final PR result is expected by December 15, 2017 evening.

Once the parties submit their HoR winners under PR category, EC will take the process ahead to President for further approval before making the list public.

Decline in Women Representatives

The number of directly-elected women to the HoR seats under the FPTP category has decreased this time as only 6 women candidates made it to HoR.

This number indicates a gradual decline in women representatives in Nepali elections over a period.

While the first Constituent Assembly (CA) elections in 2008 saw 30 women representatives, the number declined to 10 in 2013 CA elections, and now it has come down to 6.

This situation lies in contrast to the constitutional rules that recommend 33 percent women representatives in the House.

This time, only three parties including CPN-UML, CPN-MC and Rastriya Janamorcha the winning female candidates.

While UML had only 3 female winners in a total of 80 FPTP seats, CPN-MC also saw a similar number among its 36 total FPTP winners.

Meanwhile, the ruling NC party saw the failure of its 9 female candidates fielded for HoR seats.

Brainstorming Begins

With the results announced, now the winner leftist alliance is brainstorming on the formation of the new Nepali government with key discussions on power-sharing, among others.

According to the senior left leaders, KP Oli, UML Chairman and the next PM of Nepal (likely), and the MC Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also called Prachanda, are likely to hold discussions during December 14-15, 2017 over the formation of new government at the Center.

While some experts feel the formation of central government will be possible only after Assembly results, UML feels that the Assembly (Upper House) election will not be an issue and aims at the formation by the end of December 2017.

Following the formation, the President will call for the first Federal Parliament session under the new government, within 30 days of the declaration of final results of HoR as recommended by the Nepali Constitution.

The post Nepal General Election 2017: Left Alliance Wins FPTP Polls, New Govt Likely by Dec End appeared first on Nepali Sansar.