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Nepali King Gyanedra
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KATHMANDU,
October 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Nepal's political
parties Saturday, October 5, slammed King Gyanendra's sacking of
caretaker Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as unconstitutional and
called emergency meetings to discuss the move.
King
Gyanendra dismissed Deuba and the cabinet late Friday, declaring he
would temporarily take executive power and suspend national elections
scheduled for next month.
In
his national speech, Gyanendra described Deuba as
"incompetent" and said the new caretaker Prime Minister
would have a "clean image".
Gyanendra,
a constitutional monarch whose role is supposedly largely ceremonial,
said he would take political power until he nominated a new Prime
Minister in five days. He did not give a time frame for new polls.
Deuba
expressed surprise at the monarch's shock move.
"As
far as I have understood, the King cannot remove me as per the
constitution," he said.
"I
wanted elections. I had decided to postpone elections because
everybody requested me to do so. That is why I decided to defer
elections as per the constitution and according to the wishes of all
the political parties," he said.
Deuba's
sacking came after he met Gyanendra Thursday, October 3, to request
the elections be postponed for one year because of the Maoist
rebellion that has claimed more than 3,000 lives during the past 12
months.
"The
King has created a political vacuum by sacking the Prime
Minister," People's Front Nepal leader Lilamani Pokharel said.
"The
constitution has not given the mandate to the King to sack the Prime
Minister and he has not worked as per the norms of the country's
constitution and achievement of the 1990 people's movement," he
said.
"The
King has assaulted the multi-party system and his action would not
help to solve the country's current political turmoil," he said.
In
1990 a multi-party movement succeeded in overthrowing the 30-year
system of autocratic rule and democracy was re-established.
"The
King's action is a matter of anxiety and this step has weakened ...
democracy in Nepal," said Sushil Koirala, General Secretary of
the Nepali Congress, the Himalayan Kingdom's main party.
"A
constitutional monarch should solve the problems of the country by
remaining within the constitution," Koirala said.
One
of Nepal's most respected lawyers also condemned the move.
Former
President of All Nepal Bar Association and senior lawyer Harihar Dahal
said: "The King's action is beyond the rights of a constitutional
monarch."
All
Nepal's political parties were Saturday holding emergency meetings to
discuss the King's move, party sources said.
Gyanendra
said the new prime minister would prepare the nation for the new
elections, but would not be able to stand in them.
The
constitutional crisis began in May when Gyanendra, on Deuba's advice,
dissolved parliament and brought forward the elections to November,
two years ahead of schedule.
The
decision backfired with strong resistance from opposition parties, who
said elections could not be held freely and fairly because the Maoist
rebels vowed to disrupt them.
Deuba
and his cabinet had second thoughts and asked this week for the
election to be delayed until November 19, 2003.
According
to Nepal's constitution, elections must be held within six months of
the dissolution of parliament, but Friday's developments have thrown
into serious doubt whether that requirement will be met.
The
Maoists have been waging an insurgency for six years which intensified
last November when they broke a four-month ceasefire with Deuba's
government.
The
rebellion left nearly 5,000 people dead, with more than two-thirds of
the deaths reported since the truce broke down.
Deuba
vowed to crush the Maoists and ruled out any talks with them until
they dropped their demands that the constitution be redrafted.
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