Some Context
Back in 2015, the now prime minister of Nepal, Khadga Sharma Oli, formed the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) with the support of former Maoist rebels when he was elected under the newly adopted Constitution. Later in 2018, Mr. Oli was appointed prime minister after the NCP won the legislative elections. Recently, there has been conflict coming from the former Maoist wing of the party, ultimately creating disputes when decision making and keeping peace.
This has forced the prime minister to seek a new popular mandate as he enacted the dissolution of parliament which greatly upset the people (CNN). According to BBC, “The move has a created a crisis of government in the Himalayan country, which has been racked by political instability since street protests restored multi-party democracy in 1990”. On December 20th, Mr. Khadga Sharma Oli announced that in following the dissolution of parliament, elections would take place in April and May.
The Marches
Police estimate that there was at least about 10,000 people marching in the streets over this government upset. The protesters argue that this dissolution is unconstitutional and the Supreme Court in Nepal is even considering some of the petitions against it.
The prime minister argues that new elections are key to ending the instability within his party. China has even taken to express their concern for their neighbor’s governing issues.
For more information on Nepal’s background, click here
Sources
Opmerkingen