Our troubled democracy

Unless the bleeding of democracy stops, the restoration of the House alone is not going to save it.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's dissolution of Parliament has yet again thrown Nepali politics into turmoil. Oli's critics, both within his party, the Nepal Communist Party, and the opposition parties in the House, have called the dissolution 'a brazen attack on democracy; on the constitution'. Oli argues that he has the right to dissolve Parliament and seek a new mandate at his choosing. He has called for elections in April and May 2021. 'I acted because my party prevented me from doing the people's work. In a democracy, there is nothing wrong in seeking a fresh mandate', he says.