Nepal’s major political parties have demanded the country’s president reinstates the parliament he dissolved following deadly anti-corruption protests.
In a statement, eight parties – including the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Maoist Centre – said President Ram Chandra Poudel acted unconstitutionally.
Poudel dissolved the House of Representatives on Friday upon the recommendation of newly appointed interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki – it was also a key demand from the protest movement.
More than 50 people were killed in clashes with riot police during this week’s mass protests sparked by a ban on social media platforms. Karki was appointed after a deal was reached with protest leaders.
Saturday’s statement demanding the reinstatement of the parliament was signed by the chief whips of the eight political parties.
They argued the step taken by the president was unconstitutional and against the precedents set by Nepal’s judiciary.
The dissolution of the parliament was a major demand by student leaders from the so-called “Gen Z” protest movement.
But the eight parties say the protesters’ demands – including new elections announced for 5 March next year – should be addressed through an institution voted by the people.
Later on Saturday, President Poudel urged all sides to show restraint and help conduct the elections.
In a statement, he said a peaceful resolution was being achieved in a “very… difficult and scary situation”.
“The constitution is alive, the parliamentary system is alive and the federal democratic republic still exists. People have an opportunity to move forward in the path of a more efficient democracy by conducting elections within six months,” the president said.
Karki, a 73-year-old former Supreme Court chief justice and the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation, was sworn in during a brief ceremony in the capital Kathmandu.
She is expected to appoint ministers to her cabinet within a few days.
She is widely regarded as having a clean image, and her leadership of the interim government is being supported by student leaders from the “Gen Z” movement.
But her cabinet will face multiple challenges, including restoring law and order, reconstructing parliament and the other key buildings that were attacked, reassuring the Gen Z protesters who want change – and others in Nepal who are fearful its young democracy and constitutional order could be derailed.
Another key task will be to bring those responsible for violence to justice.
Nepal is gradually returning back to normalcy after the worst unrest in decades.
Nepal’s soldiers – who had been deployed to patrol the streets of Kathmandu – returned to their bases after Karki took the oath of office.
The protests were triggered by the government’s decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook – but they soon widened to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal’s political elite.
In the weeks before the ban, a “nepo kid” campaign – spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children and allegations of corruption – had taken off on social media.
And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum.
