Constitution amendment possible only in 2030, Oli reiterates

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has reiterated that constitutional amendment would take time.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) Chairperson Kamal Thapa said on Friday that Oli clarified to him that constitutional amendments would occur only in 2030. “Prime Minister Oli has said that since some parties in parliament are against amending the constitution, building consensus will take time, and in such circumstances, the amendments might be pushed back to a later date,” Thapa said.

Thapa said Oli assured him that the government is committed to amending the constitution based on national consensus.

Speaking at the recently held Central Committee meeting of his party CPN-UML, Oli said that constitutional amendments would not be possible immediately. “Currently, UML doesn’t have a majority in the National Assembly. We will make constitutional amendments when UML achieves a majority in 2030,” Oli said.

Several NC leaders have criticized Oli’s statement, with some saying that the seven-point agreement has lost its relevance.

UML and coalition partner Nepali Congress (NC) reached a seven-point agreement, which includes the common minimum agreement of the two parties on different pressing issues including constitutional amendments, on July 1.