Nepal: Prime Minister Will Not Resign, Despite Heavy Opposition

Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli will not resign, despite losing the support of a party integral to his fragile governing coalition, an aide to the prime minister said May 4, Reuters reported. Increasing public frustration at Oli led the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to withdraw support for the embattled prime minister. The party said it will try to form a new government, appealing to other parties to join it in doing so. In 2015, Nepal adopted a new constitution that, among other things, divided the country into several federal provinces. Minority ethnic Madhesis, viewing this as a path toward marginalization, imposed a four-month long economic blockade that finally ended Feb. 5, but the conditions that produced it remain.