May 21, 2024

Two major scandals surfaced in December; the first involved Axiata’s sale of its 80 percent  equity stake in Ncell to a British company at a suspiciously low price, and the second was  Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Rabi Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in irregularities  in Sudarshan and Sahara cooperatives. While the former attracted speculations of high-level  political involvement, the latter incriminated a top political leader directly. The end of the  month saw a rather unfortunate death of two protestors after the police shot at a demonstration  by Korean language test candidates in Balkumari, which had escalated after a minister’s vehicle  was torched. Politically, the major parties appear to be converging towards an agreement—to  share the 19 seats up for grabs— as the National Assembly (NA) election comes closer. 
 

May 20, 2024

A key feature of October was the political discourse and debates around the perceived political and economic crisis. As questions about government stability swirled, internal party rifts within the ruling coalition affected broader political arrangements, for example, government formation in Koshi Province. The struggle to form a new government in Koshi and provide stability showed differences among and within political parties.

Mar 22, 2024

In the past month, three major trends in politics were UML’s opposition politics, a political movement to restore the monarchy, and efforts to sustain the current coalition regime. The three largest political parties are unified in their opposition to what they call “regressive” attempts to restore the monarchy.
 

Nov 03, 2023

There are signs of discontent within the ruling coalitions - the opposition faction of the Nepali Congress (NC) - the biggest party of the ruling alliance - has been asking to form a new government under the leadership of the Nepali Congress, and PM Dahal too has raised doubts about the longevity of the government. As the political parties are caught up with coalition affairs, governance and delivery have taken a backseat. In September itself, the meeting of the National Assembly was postponed twice each for more than a week as the government failed to give any business - that too when as many as four dozen laws, pertaining to implementation of constitutional provisions, are yet to be tabled in the parliament even after seven years of the promulgation. Some parties of the Socialist Front have sought to drag the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact into controversy yet again, questioning the relevance of the 12-point interpretative declaration ratified by the parliament in 2021 - the interpretative declaration is, however, already acknowledged and agreed upon by the US.

Sep 21, 2023

In the month of August, the government continued its anti-corruption drive and the Nepal Police recommended prosecuting 238 accused including former ministers, senior bureaucrats and middlemen in the infamous Lalita Niwas Land Grab Scam. On 24^th August, the Lower House resumed its function – the main opposition had been obstructing the House for over a month with a demand to form a high-level probing panel to investigate the gold smuggling case. And on 28^th August, presidents for all ten parliamentary committees were elected unanimously after nine months of the general election.
 

Aug 24, 2023

The CPN-UML obstructed the house twice in the month of July – first against PM Dahal’s statement that a transport entrepreneur had lobbied within the Indian establishment to elect him as the Prime Minister. The CPN-UML let the house function once PM Dahal offered an apology over his statement but after a few weeks, the party obstructed the house again asking to form high-level probing committee to investigate the 100 Kilogram gold smuggle case. That aside, the Constitutional Council failed to appoint the Chief Justice within the deadline of July 5^th – that is, at least a month prior to the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice. On the other side, the Nepali Congress held the Central Committee meeting from 18^th July to 26^th July after a year; even though the party charter mandates that such meeting should be held at least once in two months. The meeting was over with no significant decisions but the opposing two factions of the party came face-to-fac, and criticized the other faction for the ills that the party has been grappling with of late.
 

Jul 19, 2023

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) visited India as his inaugural foreign visit from 31^st May to 3^rd June – the visit brough home some important deals in arenas of energy trade, hydropower projects and connectivity. On 19^th June, CPN (Maoist Center), Janata Samajwadi Party, CPN (Unified Socialist) and Communist Party of Nepal formed the Socialist Front. On the other side, the government arrested a few accused in the Lalita Niwas Land Grab Scam, and resumed the investigation which had been halted for long. The opposition faction of the Nepali Congress conducted “Nepali Congress Reformation Campaign” in several districts over the month, and has further upped the ante against the establishment faction.
 

Jun 21, 2023

The month of May saw the arrest of two former ministers, Mr. Bal Krishna Khand from the Nepali Congress, and Mr. Top Bahadur Rayamajhi from the CPN-UML, along with other fifteen individuals for their alleged involvement in the Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam. On May 22, Nepal Police submitted an investigation report on the same to the District Attorney’s Office Kathmandu with a recommendation to prosecute thirty-three individuals including those senior leaders, senior bureaucrats and middlemen on charges of treason, organized crime and fraud. On the other side, the opposition faction of the Nepali Congress (NC) upped the ante against the top leader Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba, and launched “Nepali Congress Rupantaran Abhiyan (transformation campaign)” against the backdrop of Mr. Deuba’s dubious positions on the ongoing investigation of the scam, and the NC’s dismal performance in the April by-polls.

May 08, 2023

The by-election for three vacant seats of the House of Representatives (HoR) was held on 23rd April. The ruling electoral coalition which had forayed into the polls in collaboration secured one seat, while the Rashtriya Swatantra Party on its own secured two. PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) reshuffled the cabinet for the eighth time in mere four months, appointing Mr. Narayan Prasad (NP) Saud from the Nepali Congress as the Foreign Minister, and Mr. Nanda Chapai from the CPN (Unified Socialist) as the Minister of State for Physical Infrastructure and Transport – however, PM Dahal is yet to fully expand the cabinet. The biggest party Nepali Congress is caught in intra-party tensions and hasn’t yet appointed ministers for four ministries allocated to the party. The winter session of the lower house was over with no laws or amendment bills passed, but the government introduced its Common Minimum Program for the second time. That aside, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party got embroiled in controversy over a leaked audio tape of its lawmaker Mr. Dhaka Kumar Shrestha asking NRs. 20 million to pay the “core team” of the party, and was subsequently expelled from the party as well as the parliament.

Apr 13, 2023

Throughout the month of March, political parties got occupied with affairs of coalition. With a major realignment in coalition, the Nepali Congress’s candidate, Mr Ram Chandra Poudel, and the Janata Samajwadi Party’s candidate Ram Sahay Yadav were elected as the President and Vice President respectively.

Mar 24, 2023

The ruling coalition of the CPN (Maoist Center) and the CPN-UML and four other parties collapsed having failed to reach a consensus on the presidential candidate for the poll. The CPN-UML left the government, and the Rastriya Prajatantra party followed suit. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)s too exited the government over PM Dahal’s refusal to reinstate the RSP’s top leader Mr Rabi Lamichhane as the Home Minister. The Nepali Congress has nominated its senior leader Mr. Ram Chandra Poudel, and the CPN-UML has nominated its vice president Mr. Subash Chandra Nemwang as contestants for the presidential poll. With the support of the CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist) and other smaller parties, the NC’s candidate Poudel is likely to get elected as the next President of Nepal. The Nepali Congress and the CPN (Unified Socialist) are expected to join the Dahal-led government after the presidential poll, and PM Dahal is likely to gain confidence of the parliament.
 

Feb 16, 2023

On 10 January, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) secured a vote of confidence at the House of Representative (HoR), after which he expanded the cabinet on 17 January. On 19 January, CPN UML candidate Devraj Ghimire was elected as the speaker of the House of Representative. Following the Supreme Court’s verdict that the Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane had failed to follow the due process of acquiring new citizenship certificate of Nepal, after giving up his citizenship certificate of the United States, minister Lamichhane resigned from his post. On the opposition front, discontents have soared against the leadership in the Nepali Congress, over failing to keep the electoral coalition of the November polls intact, and for continued deferral of the Central Committee meetings after the polls.

Feb 04, 2023

The month of March turned out to be just another month with the never-ending political crisis. The winter session of the parliament was prorogued amidst the longest-ever obstruction in Nepal’s parliamentary history. This, in turn, prolonged the judicial deadlock that the Supreme Court has been facing for over the last six months.

Jan 24, 2023

Throughout the month of December, the political parties were occupied with attempts at forming a new government. On 19 December, President Bidya Devi Bhandari called on political parties to form the government within seven days. In the last-minute drama that unfolded on 25 December, CPN Maoist Center left the Nepali Congress-led alliance and joined hands with the CPN UML and other four parties to form the government under the leadership of its top leader Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda). The newly elected Prime Minister Dahal introduced an eight-member cabinet with three deputy prime ministers, but is yet to form a full-fledged cabinet. The CPN Unified Socialist, which is yet to decide on PM Dahal’s government, however has sought the leftist unity, and has also begun early talks to unify with the Janata Samajwadi Party. With realignments in coalitions, the Nepali Congress is now pushed to the opposition bench in the federal parliament, and seemingly in all seven provinces as well. Following this, the opposition faction of the Nepali Congress has upped its ante against the establishment faction. 

Jan 05, 2023

This November, both federal and provincial elections were held in a single phase. While no party could secure a simple majority required to form the government, the ruling coalition performed below expectations.

Dec 16, 2022

As the Supreme Court verdict on PM Oli’s May 22 House dissolution nears, politics within the CPN-UML and outside gains momentum once again.

Dec 16, 2022

The month of July saw a historic impression to the constitution and democratic system of Nepal.

Dec 16, 2022

On August 18, 2021, President Bidya Devi Bhandari under the recommendation of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government promulgated an ordinance in order to to

Dec 16, 2022

A controversial ordinance related to the Political Parties Act facilitated party splits of CPN-UML and JSP.

Dec 16, 2022

The month of October was marked by cabinet expansion and CPN-UML’s statute conventions. Other remarkable incidences

Dec 16, 2022

The month of November saw the general convention of CPN UML, where K.P Sharma Oli was elected as party president.

Dec 14, 2022

Dec 13, 2022

In the front of Federal affairs, after a prolonged struggle, Province 2 has finally endorsed provincial name as ‘Madhes Province’ and Janakpur (Janakpurdham) as the capital city in January.

Dec 13, 2022

In the federal front, the provincial governments completed the 4th year of their establishment in February 2022. On the occasion of the anniversary

Dec 12, 2022

The upcoming local polls and coalition talks made headlines throughout the month of April. Almost all parties, in both the ruling alliance and the opposition, were

Dec 10, 2022

The second-ever local poll since Nepal’s transition into a federal republic with three tiers of government was held on May 13^th. 

Dec 10, 2022

The Commanding General of the US Army Pacific Charles A. Flynn in his meetings with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Army chief General Prabhu 

Dec 10, 2022

The possibilities of realignment in the coalition for the upcoming federal and provincial elections made headlines throughout the month.

Dec 10, 2022

This month, the government announced federal and provincial elections for November 20, 2022. The ruling coalition set up a task force to decide on seat-sharing between the five parties.

Dec 10, 2022

Throughout the month of September, the five-party ruling alliance struggled to reach a consensus on seat sharing for the first-past

Dec 09, 2022

As federal and provincial polls are nearby, the month of October saw some dramatic developments – Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) quitted the ruling

Dec 10, 2022

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) dispute & the Standing Committee Meeting: After the President prorogated the parliamentary sessions recommended by 

Dec 09, 2022

On December 17, CPN-UML Secretary General Shanker Pokhrel announced that Bhim Rawal, who lost to KP Oli

Dec 09, 2022

Sher Bahadur Deuba, on January 8 and 9, nominated 13 party leaders to the central committee. Most of them had lost contests for office bearer positions.

On January 5, Shekhar Koirala held a meeting of his political camp, inviting Congress party’s senior party leaders. The agenda of the meeting was to chart out the camp’s strategies, and to discuss ways to check and balance Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has a 80 percent majority in the party.

Dec 09, 2022

On January 18, the ruling alliance held a meeting in order to discuss elections. The Election Commission had proposed elections for April-May.

Dec 09, 2022

On January 23, the Deuba government consulted with legal and constitutional experts about the conflicting rules of the Local Governance Act and constitutional provisions about setting the date for upcoming local level elections.

Dec 09, 2022

During a consultation session with constitutional experts and Election Commission officials, government officials agreed to hold the local level elections before May 19, 2022.

Dec 09, 2022

The government declared local polls for May 13 to be held in a single phase after a meeting between Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Sharma Oli, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Local polls, the MCC grant, and other issues were discussed during the meeting. The United States has set a February 28 deadline for Nepal to ratify MCC in the parliament.

Dec 10, 2022

As a small landlocked country sandwiched between two giants—India and China—Nepal’s sensitivity for territorial integrity and sovereignty stands ou

Dec 09, 2022

The US-China relationship has entered a period of great uncertainty and instability as China has become more powerful and more assertive in the international arena. Similarly, 

Dec 09, 2022

Chinese investments in Nepal have steadily risen and China has become Nepal’s biggest investment partner in terms of commitment.

Dec 09, 2022

The world economy is undergoing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in  

Dec 09, 2022

Liu Jianchao, the head of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party, visited Nepal on July 10.

Dec 09, 2022

The amendment Bill to the Citizenship Act 2006 was first passed by both the houses and was sent on 5 September 2022 to the President