Nepal’s Cabinet recommended dissolving parliament in an emergency meeting on Sunday as Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s party said he had lost majority support.
“The prime minister has lost the majority in the parliamentary party, central committee and the secretariat of the party,” said Bishnu Rijal, a central committee member of the ruling Nepal Communist Party.
“Instead of seeking a compromise within the party he chose to dissolve parliament.”
Oli could not immediately be reached for comment.
The leader, whose handling of the coronavirus crisis has been criticised as the economy takes a beating, had come under pressure to either leave the premiership or the reins of the party.
The next general election in the Himalayan country, sandwiched between China and India, is due in 2022. It was not immediately clear when a fresh election would be called if the country’s president accepts the Cabinet move, likely to be a formality.
