Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Faced with the intense pressure from Gen-Z protests that resulted in the death of 19 people, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post on September 9 afternoon. Oli submitted his resignation letter to President Ram Chandra Poudel, citing the abnormal situation in the country as protests intensified against his rule throughout the country. In the resignation letter, Oli said he resigned from the post as per article 77 (1) of the constitution to pave the way for constitutional resolution of the current situation.
Oli was elected Prime Minister on July 14, 2024, as per a consensus reached with Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament Some reports indicated that Mayor Balen Shah could be appointed as an interim Prime Minister of the country. As protests intensified on the second day following the killing of 19 protestors on September 8, the ruling coalition appeared to have fractured one after another with ministers particularly belonging to Nepali Congress resigning and putting further pressure on the Government to quit.
General Secretaries of ruling Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma had earlier urged Prime Minister Oli to resign and pave the way forward. Thapa and Sharma said in a statement that the relevance of the seven-point agreement reached between the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and Congress during the formation of the Government was no longer valid. It is not immediately clear what course Nepal’s politics would take now as all the lawmakers from the fourth largest party Rastriya Swatantra Party also resigned in masses demanding an interim Government.
