Nepal dissolves parliament, set to hold vote in November

KATHMANDU, Nepal

Nepal's president on Saturday dissolved parliament and announced elections in November as the country continues to reel from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Saturday's move came after caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the main opposition party, made claims to form a new government.

In a statement issued early on Saturday, the spokesman for President Bidhya Devi Bhandari said the decisions were made following the recommendations of Prime Minister Oli. The mid-term elections are set to take place on Nov. 12 and 19.

In December last year, the government dissolved parliament and scheduled general elections. But three months later, the country's top court reinstated parliament, forcing Oli to seek a vote of confidence among its members.

Oli, a 69-year-old former political prisoner, remained the head of the government despite losing the vote since his rivals failed to garner a coalition to replace him.

Oli has come under fire for his administration's allegedly inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has gripped the Himalayan nation.

Some 5,847 people have died so far, while nearly half a million have been infected by the disease.