China and India watch as Nepal falls into political turmoil
Kathmandu: Nepal's top leader has dissolved Parliament amid infighting among members of the governing party, throwing into doubt the political future of a strategically important Himalayan country where China and India have long jockeyed for influence.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli called for the dissolution of the lower house despite protests from his own Nepal Communist Party and opposition groups, including the largest, Nepali Congress. Nepal is now set to hold elections starting in late April, more than a year earlier than the expected vote in November 2022.
Nepalese students affiliated with Nepal Student Union chant slogans against Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli during a protest in Kathmandu on Sunday. Credit:AP
Oli made his move in the face of rising dissatisfaction with his job performance even within the ranks of his own party. He was elected to a second stint as prime minister in 2017 on promises of tamping down corruption and forging stronger ties with China and its economic growth machine.
But Oli's administration has been plagued by its own corruption allegations as well as criticism of his government's handling of the pandemic, which has devastated an economy that has long depended on tourism and remittances from its citizens abroad. Divisions also lingered within his party, which was created by the alliance of two smaller communist parties in 2017.
By dissolving the lower house, Oli might avoid a potential no-confidence vote from its members. But experts said that he lacked the power to dissolve Parliament and that the move could be challenged in the country's highest court.
A Nepalese protester burns an effigy of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli in front of the parliament building in Kathmandu on Sunday.Credit:AP
"Under existing constitutional provisions, dissolution of Parliament can't be the Prime Minister's prerogative when there are many other options to form a new government," said Bipin Adhikari, former dean of Kathmandu University Law School and a constitutional expert. "It's an unconstitutional step."
Nepal has long swung between favouring China or India. It has extensive economic ties with India, where many of its people work, and like India has a majority Hindu population.
In 2015, India imposed a months-long unofficial blockade against Nepal over a new constitution adopted after a bloody Maoist insurgency, and many in Nepal believed the move stemmed from New Delhi's feeling that it should have been more involved in the drafting. Last year, some people in Nepal blamed India for building embankments that worsened flooding on the Nepal side of the border.
As tensions with New Delhi rose, Beijing moved in. China has pumped money into Nepal, which it sees as crucial to its efforts to build influence in the region. That campaign got a boost in 2017, when the communists won the election.
The current turmoil throws those gains into doubt.
Should Oli fall, China would lose a friend. Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a high-profile visit last year. And Oli has made an effort to show his sympathy to Beijing by organising training on Xi Jinping Thought, as the Chinese leader's instructions are called.
"Oli wasn't an acceptable prime minister for India," said Adhikari. "The next prime minister could be more India-friendly than Oli."
Nepal, one of the poorest countries in South Asia, is still struggling with the pandemic. Official figures suggest the coronavirus is under control - it has recorded approximately 253,000 COVID-19 cases and lost 1788 people to the disease. But testing remains spotty, global mountain climbers are staying home and Nepalese migrant workers are jobless in many places around the world.
About 36,000 Georgians who did not vote in November cast ballots early for the January runoffs, according to state data. That includes people who were too young to vote last month.
Voters have been subject to a barrage of get-out-the-vote activity and advertising. Campaigns and independent groups have spent more than $400 million on advertisements, ad data shows.
"These are highly motivated people who want to get in and do this stuff," said Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia Secretary of State's office who manages the voter information system. But he said he didn't know if the turnout would continue at the same pace with the holidays approaching.
The New York Times, The Washington Post