The Supreme Court has removed Uddhav Thapa from the post of chief minister of Koshi Province after concluding that the formation of the Nepali Congress-led provincial government was unconstitutional.
A bench full of judges Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Til Prasad Shrestha also ordered the Koshi provincial leader and provincial council spokesman to appoint a chief minister to a coalition government within seven day. The province will have a minority government if another coalition government is not formed in time. The Khatiwada-led bench, however, has refused to reinstate CPN-UML’s parliamentary party leader Hikmat Karki as the chief minister. “If the chief minister appointed as per Article 168 (2) fails to get a vote of confidence, a new chief minister will be appointed as per Article 168 (3). Therefore, it is not necessary to issue an order to appoint the plaintiff as the chief minister,” reads one of the points in the verdict. Parshuram Khapung, the chief of the province, on July 6 had appointed Thapa as Karki’s successor after the ruling alliance produced the signatures of 47 lawmakers including Baburam Gautam, Speaker of the assembly. Thapa became chief minister of a coalition government as per Article 168 (2) of the constitution.
The opposition parties had strongly objected to the inclusion of the Speaker in the government formation process saying that the head of the assembly can’t take sides and support a political party to form government. They had also accused Khapung and Baburam Gautam, Speaker of the assembly, of siding with the ruling alliance.Signatures of 29 lawmakers from the Congress, 13 from the CPN (Maoist Centre) including the Speaker, four from the CPN (Unified Socialist) and one from the Janata Samajbadi Party were submitted to the provincial head. Without Speaker Gautam’s support, the coalition would be one vote short of the majority required to form the Thapa-led government.Objecting to Gautam’s active role in government formation and Khapung’s subsequent endorsement of the process, Karki on July 7 had moved the Supreme Court demanding Thapa’s removal and his reinstatement as chief minister. As demanded by the petitioner, the Supreme Court has said Gautam cannot play any part in government formation.
“Baburam Gautam resigned from his party on January 12 after becoming Speaker,” reads the verdict. “The Speaker has a role of a referee or an umpire which is why Article 186 says one chairing the provincial assembly cannot cast a vote. The Speaker can cast a decisive vote only when there is a tie.”In his response to the court’s show cause notice earlier, Gautam had claimed that he put down his signature for the purpose of forming government in the capacity of a lawmaker, not as Speaker. He had also claimed that there were instances in the past where the Speaker supported government formation.
The full-bench, turning down his claim, has said the Speaker taking sides and supporting a particular party in the government formation process means s/he has failed to play a neutral role. “In parliamentary practice, there is no instance of government formation through Speaker’s support,” according to the verdict. The full-bench passed the verdict after three days of continuous hearing.If there is no change in the existing political alliance in the province, a coalition government cannot be formed. The ruling alliance of the Congress, the Maoist Centre, the Unified Socialist and the Janata Samajbadi parties have 46 lawmakers combined. The opposition alliance of the UML and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party has the same strength, with 40 and six lawmakers respectively. Either of the alliances needs the support of at least one additional lawmaker to claim government leadership. Both the Congress and the UML have said they will form the government. However, they have failed to present the ground for it. The UML, as the largest party in the provincial assembly, will get to form the government as per Article 168 (3), if no alliance can present the support of 47 lawmakers.
Source: Here.
