Nepal's embattled Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli will not resign but face a floor test in parliament instead, an aide said on Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court rejected his decision to dissolve the legislature and call early elections.
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Political turmoil has rocked the Himalayan nation since last December, when Oli suddenly dissolved parliament, blaming ruling party leaders for a lack of co-operation on key matters of policy.
The court ruled that parliament's abrupt dissolution was unconstitutional and ordered that it be called into session before March 8.
Thousands of Nepalis opposed to Oli took to the streets in the capital, Kathmandu, for a public rally on Wednesday to celebrate the decision and press fresh demands for the prime minister to resign.
"The prime minister will not resign now. There is no question about that," Surya Thapa, the aide, told Reuters.
"He will face parliament," Thapa added, but did not elaborate.
Senior politician Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who organised countrywide protests against Oli, said the country's tourism-dependent economy battered by the coronavirus needs a stable government.
Australian Associated Press
