The appointment of the interim Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, has sparked a debate on the formal procedure followed. Technically speaking, only members of the House of Parliament can be appointed to that position, and she is not a chosen parliamentarian. However, most political parties accept this as a fitting one-off solution.
Nepal has had seven constitutions so far. Draughting the latest constitution in 2015 took a decade-long civil war, a people’s movement, two constitution-draughting assemblies, and thousands of lives.
As Nepal observed the 10th anniversary of the constitution on September 19, the celebration was a mix of fear, lamentation, and optimism. The interim government led by Prime Minister Sushila Karki celebrated the day in Tudikhel. But it didn’t include grand processions and displays as in the past. The not-so-happy celebration coincided with a nationwide concern about the safeguarding of republicanism, secularism, multi-party democracy, and federalism, which are the significant accomplishments of this iteration.
The worry traces back to what happened in the last two weeks. KP Sharma Oli’s elected government collapsed following the nationwide Gen Z revolt against corruption on September 8 and 9. A constitutional crisis unfolded after the government’s fall. The youngsters were not ready to accept any of the parliament members from the political parties as the new prime minister.
As soon as the Nepal Army took charge of the situation for security, republicans feared the return of the monarchy, while monarchists were enthusiastic about it. The call for monarchy as a stabilising force had already gained some ground until the army made it clear that it was facilitating the negotiations between the protesters and President Ram Chandra Poudel.
It took the protesters a while to come up with their demands. They eventually demanded that the parliament be dissolved and the prime minister be chosen from outside the parliament. But Article 76 of the constitution is clear: the Prime Minister must be a member of the House of Representatives.
President Ram Chandra Poudel appointed Sushila Karki, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as the Prime Minister, invoking his “main duty […] to abide by and protect this Constitution.” Karki then dissolved the House of Representatives.
Eight major political parties present in the House were quick to criticise the dissolution as “unconstitutional and a breach of parliamentary tradition.” The President later defended it as an “ingenious move” to save the constitution and its achievements.
On the eve of the Constitution Day, a group of civil society leaders visited the President, insisting that the interim government, formed in accordance with the protesters’ demands, should also take the political parties into confidence. The President reportedly informed the civil society leaders that Karki’s appointment was for the greater good of the federal democratic republic.
Major political parties, except the monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), have reluctantly endorsed the President’s move, evident by their public statements on the occasion. RPP has insisted that the republican constitution has failed.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has stated that the constitution went slightly off track while forming the interim government and expects that the constitution will return to the right course through the election.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, the chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre), has praised the President for his prudence. “[In the President’s move,] there was an underlying spirit of preserving the constitution and embracing its historic significance,” he said, speaking to his party cadre on Constitution Day.
Ousted PM KP Sharma Oli has a different viewpoint. He believes that the Constitution is under a major attack. “All generations of Nepalis must unite to face the assault on our sovereignty and to protect our constitution. If sovereignty is our existence, the constitution is the armour of our freedom,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Since there was no way to form a Council of Ministers through the House of Representatives, let us all understand that this step has been taken based on broad consensus,” President Poudel said, addressing the tea reception organised by the Office of the President on Constitution Day. “Within six months, let us all rise to complete the election that will bring a new House of Representatives.”
While it is true that the President has saved the Constitution, it has been broken in the due process. Observers fear that it can set a bad precedent. Meanwhile, there are chances that Karki’s appointment will be challenged in the court in the coming days. The interim government has a mandate to investigate years of corruption by political leaders, which formed the basis of the Gen Z protests. How the interim government fulfils that mandate while holding the elections by March 2026 is yet to be seen.
