Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
President Ram Chandra Poudel reappointed Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ as Prime Minister.
Fact
CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister, not Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
A video claiming that President Ram Chandra Poudel reappointed CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ as the Prime Minister shortly after Dahal was ousted from the post, is going viral on TikTok.
The video has gone viral after Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost the vote of confidence in the parliament on Friday after his former key ally CPN-UML joined hands with the Nepali Congress to form a new government.
TikTok user @bhanu1789 posted a video carrying an image of Pushpa Kamal Dahal sitting in the parliament alongside a purported statement from the President’s Office. However, the blurred text on the statement is not readable. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Pushpa Kamal Dahal reappointed as the Prime Minister. Why did the president reappoint Prachanda, who reached his private residence in Khumaltar after the fall of his government, saying that the country is in your hands?”
The video posted on July 13 has garnered 6,637 likes, 138 users have shared it and 301 people have commented until the last count. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker checked the official website of Nepal’s President and found the recent statement issued by the president on July 12, calling for the formation of a new government according to article 76(2) of the Constitution of Nepal 2015. We compared the press statement with the image of statement carried in the viral video and found that it was a match.
Further, we checked for the news regarding the formation of a new government and found several articles published in national and international news outlets on the appointment of CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli as the new Prime minister after the ousting of Prachanda (See here, here & here).
Another article, published on Kathmandu Post online dated July 22, 2024, reported that CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli was sworn in as the new prime minister on July 15 amid a special function at the president’s office in Sheetal Niwas, Kathmandu. Prime Minister Oli also formed a 22-member Cabinet after his swearing in.
We also found a news article, dated July 15, 2015, published on another popular online media setopati.com. The news article reported that a writ petition has been lodged at the Supreme Court against the appointment of KP Sharma Oli as the new Prime Minister by President Ram Chandra Poudel as per article 76(2). According to the article, the petitioners have argued that the new prime minister should be appointed as per article 76(3) of the constitution.
Thus, our findings clearly indicated that the viral video is misleading.
Conclusion
No, President Ram Chandra Poudel has not reappointed CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the new prime minister after he left Baluwatar. The viral video is edited.
Result: False
Sources
Kathmandu Post, July 15, 2024
Setopati, July 15, 2024
NDTV, July 15, 2024
Reuters, July 15, 2024
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
