A broad political consensus has been reached on the proposal of the Gen-Z group to appoint former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as the Prime Minister of an interim government. President Ram Chandra Paudel is preparing to appoint Karki, and if no unexpected hurdles arise, Nepal could see the formation of a citizen-led government under her leadership today. With this appointment, Karki would become the first female Prime Minister in Nepal’s history.
However, disagreements over the dissolution of Parliament have delayed her appointment. On Thursday night, from 10:30 p.m. until nearly 3 a.m., President Paudel, former Chief Justice Karki, Chief of Army Staff Ashokraj Sigdel, and the President’s legal advisor Baburam Kunwar held intense discussions. Karki argued that the Constitution does not allow a non-MP to become Prime Minister while Parliament remains intact, and therefore insisted on dissolution. President Paudel, however, remains firm on retaining Parliament and seeking a solution within its framework, adding further complexity to the process.
Constitutional experts have suggested two options for President Paudel in forming an interim government. First, caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli could formally propose Karki’s name to the President. Second, the President could directly initiate the formation of a new government by invoking Articles 61(3), 61(4), and 305 of the Constitution. Article 61(3) assigns the President the responsibility of promoting national unity, Article 61(4) emphasizes upholding and protecting the Constitution, and Article 305 grants authority to remove obstacles by issuing orders based on the principle of necessity. Since the Council of Ministers is currently in a caretaker role, experts argue the President could exercise these powers himself.
Before holding discussions with Karki, President Paudel had consulted with constitutional experts, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, and former Prime Ministers KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The Gen-Z group, through a virtual vote on Wednesday, had officially proposed Karki as interim Prime Minister. Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah has also expressed his support for Karki. However, Balen has set conditions including the dissolution of Parliament and annulment of appointments to constitutional bodies—conditions that the President has not accepted.
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