In a clear breach of the Supreme Court’s precedent and the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal, Khagaraj Adhikari, a CPN-UML provincial assembly member, on Sunday became the chief minister in Gandaki.

Province head Dilliraj Bhatta appointed Adhikari to the position as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution after he staked a claim for the chief ministerial position with the support of a majority of provincial assembly members including the Speaker.

Adhikari presented the support of 31 members—22 from his party, eight from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and an independent member. The eight from the Maoist Centre include Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital. Support of 31 members is required for minimum majority in the 60-strong provincial assembly.

“This shows how low our political leadership can stoop for power,” Bipin Adhikari, a professor at the Kathmandu University School of Law, told the Post. “The Speaker, province head and the ruling alliance jointly attacked the constitution and the Supreme Court verdict.”

On July 27 last year, the top court, setting a precedent, annulled the Uddhav Thapa-led Nepali Congress government in Koshi concluding that the Speaker cannot be a part of the government formation process.

Parshuram Khapung, then head of Koshi, on July 6 had appointed Thapa the chief minister after he produced the signatures of 47 lawmakers including Baburam Gautam, then Speaker of the assembly.

The UML, which was in the opposition, had strongly objected to the inclusion of the Speaker in the government formation process saying that the head of the assembly can’t take sides and support a political party to form government. It moved the Supreme Court which passed the verdict defining the roles and limits of the Speaker.

“The Speaker has the role of a referee or an umpire which is why Article 186 says one chairing the provincial assembly cannot cast a vote. The Speaker can cast a decisive vote only when there is a tie. In parliamentary practice, there is no instance of government formation through the Speaker’s support,” the court had said in July.

Passing yet another verdict against the Thapa government on September 7, the top court had said not just the Speaker, but any lawmaker of the federal parliament or the provincial legislature chairing the assembly or House should maintain a neutral role and is not allowed to vote in the government’s formation.

In under a year, to form its government, the UML chose to walk on the same unconstitutional path against which it had knocked the top court twice.

“Formation of the Adhikari government is a fraud to the constitution and disrespect for the judiciary. The government is unconstitutional prima facie,” Om Prakash Aryal, chair of the Constitutional Lawyer’s Forum, told the Post.

On April 3, province head Bhatta called on the political parties represented in the provincial assembly to prove a majority to stake their claim to the post of chief minister and form a government within six days following the resignation of Surendra Raj Pandey. Adhikari presented the list of provincial assembly members supporting him on Sunday.

Opposing the list which included Dhital, the Congress made a written request to Bhatta to refrain from appointing Adhikari the chief minister. It had also advised him to take the court’s verdict as a reference.

“The province head must have asked how the Speaker could support the chief ministerial candidate,” said Adhikari, the constitutional expert.

The largest party has said it will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

With two seats, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party is kingmaker in Gandaki. The UML leadership tried to bring the Hindu monarchist party on board to ensure a comfortable majority. Under a new power-sharing deal, the UML has been allocated leadership of Gandaki, Karnali, and Koshi governments.

In his Pokhara visit on Friday, KP Sharma Oli, the UML chairman, had tried to woo the party leaders but they rejected the offer. The party, which has been campaigning to turn Nepal back to a Hindu kingdom, has decided not to be a part of the current ruling alliance. It is holding a mass rally in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

After the RPP’s stance, the ruling alliance staked its claim to the Gandaki government by presenting the Speaker as being on its side. Pandey as the parliamentary party leader of the largest party would have been appointed the chief minister under Article 168 (3) had the ruling parties not presented the claim for the coalition government by Bhatta’s deadline.