Eight political parties that were represented in Nepal’s recently dissolved House of Representatives said on Saturday the dissolution was unconstitutional and a breach of parliamentary tradition.

In a joint statement, the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Nagarik Unmukti Party, and Janamat Party demanded that the decision be reversed immediately. They said the move undermined the supremacy of the constitution and devalued the people’s mandate.

President Ramchandra Poudel dissolved the House of Representatives on Friday shortly after appointing former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as interim prime minister.

The decision followed days of anti-corruption protests, largely driven by young demonstrators, that toppled the government of KP Sharma Oli.

Karki, the country’s first woman chief justice, was sworn in to head a small interim Cabinet tasked with holding new elections, which have been scheduled for March 5.

The statement from the eight parties cited Article 76(7) of the constitution and past Supreme Court rulings, saying the president’s step violated established constitutional practice.

“This move not only undermines the people’s mandate but also strikes at the very supremacy of the constitution,” the statement said.

The parties warned that Nepal’s hard-won democracy, established through years of struggle and codified by the Constituent Assembly in the 2015 republican constitution, could not tolerate such moves.

The Gen Z-led street protests that helped bring down Oli’s government were triggered by a ban on social media platforms and anger over corruption.

The unrest left at least 51 people dead, prompting a nationwide curfew before the presidential intervention.