Newly elected Prime Minister K.P. Oli is being sworn in by President Ram Prasad Poudel, unseen, at the Presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Newly-appointed Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on July 18 said that Nepal’s future is “bright”, but its current scenario needs to be changed, amidst frequent political turmoil in the Himalayan nation.

Mr. Oli, who was sworn in on Monday as the Himalayan nation’s Prime Minister for the fourth time, said the country’s current scenario is not good, The Rising Nepal newspaper reported.

Addressing the Engineer Day event, the 72-year-old veteran Communist leader said that though the country is praiseworthy, its situation does not match it.

Nepal has faced frequent political turmoil as the country has seen 14 governments in the past 16 years after the Republican system was introduced.

“There is an issue in the country. If a body is unwell, then it cannot be said that hands are fine. Just like when the fever comes, the whole body suffers; the situation of the country is not good overall, at least not praiseworthy,” Mr. Oli was quoted as saying.

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“The history of our country is glorious and worth praising, just like the country is. There is no doubt that the future of our country is good, but it is, at present, not in a place of satisfaction. Therefore, it needs to be changed,” he said.

He underscored that the need of the hour was to take the country towards betterment from the present deteriorated condition, Nepal’s state-run RSS news agency reported.

Asserting that the government was involved in resolving the country’s existing problems, Mr. Oli said, “There is no condition of being satisfied. We have to change this condition. There is no doubt that the future of the country is bright.” He expressed commitment that the government would advance, resolving problems surfacing in every sector.

Mr. Oli, who needs to secure a vote of confidence from Parliament within 30 days of appointment, will take a vote of confidence on Sunday.

K.P. Sharma Oli appointed as Nepal’s Prime Minister for the third time. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

K P Sharma Oli was appointed Nepal’s Prime Minister for the third time on July 14 to lead the new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the country.

Mr. Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on July 12, leading to the formation of the new government process as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution.

President Ram Chandra Paudel appointed Oli as the new Prime Minister of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML)-Nepali Congress (NC) coalition.

Mr. Oli along with the new Cabinet will be sworn in on July 15.

Late on July 12 night, Mr. Oli staked his claim to become the next Prime Minister with the backing of NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba and submitted the signatures of 165 House of Representatives (HoR) members — 77 from his party and 88 from the NC.

Mr. Oli served as Nepal’s Prime Minister from October 11, 2015, to August 3, 2016 and then, from February 5, 2018, to July 13, 2021.