Kathmandu, Nov 25 (IANS) The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), or CPN-UML, has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking the reinstatement of the dissolved House of Representatives while registering the party with the Election Commission for participation in the upcoming elections.
Since being ousted from power following the Gen-Z movement in early September, the party led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has been demanding the reinstatement of the dissolved Lower House, calling its dissolution unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, the UML moved the Supreme Court, arguing that the dissolution of the House of Representatives was unconstitutional and demanding its restoration. The writ petitioners have also demanded the dismissal of the current government, arguing that Prime Minister Karki was not appointed constitutionally.
Former Chief Whip of the party in the Lower House Mahesh Bartaula and whip Sunita Baral have signed the writ petition on behalf of the former ruling party.
Bartaula told IANS that his party approached the Supreme Court because the appointment of Karki as Prime Minister and the dissolution of the House of Representatives by an “unconstitutionally appointed Prime Minister” were both unconstitutional.
The writ argues that since Karki, who is not a member of the House of Representatives and has already served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, her appointment as Prime Minister runs contrary to Articles 76 and 132(2) of the Constitution, and is prima facie unconstitutional.
Likewise, the writ demands quashing President Ram Chandra Paudel’s decision of September 12 to dissolve the Lower House and calls for its restoration by treating the period since September 9 as void. At a time when all major political parties, including the Nepali Congress and the reconstituted Nepal Communist Party led by former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, have vowed to go to the polls, the UML has been insisting on reinstating the Lower House.
However, the UML also indicated that it is ready to face the parliamentary polls scheduled for March 5 next year, as the party was registered at the Election Commission on Tuesday.
Following the UML’s registration at the election authority, Minister for Communication and Information Technology and Government Spokesperson Jagadish Kharel commented that all political parties were now ready for the polls. “Even the political party that protested against the new polls has registered at the election authority, which suggests that political parties are preparing themselves for the elections,” he said.
–IANS
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