Sher Bahadur Deuba appointed as Nepal's prime minister

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has been appointed by President Bidya Devi Bhandari as next prime minister of the country.

Chief personal secretary to the President, Bhesh Raj Adhikari said, "The President has appointed Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime minister of the country as per Article 76 (5) of the constitution," reports The Kathmandu Post.

The Office of the President is also preparing to administer the oath of office and secrecy to Deuba at 6pm Tuesday, he said.

The Supreme Court overturned Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's May 21 decision to dissolve the House on Monday and instructed the Office of President to appoint Deuba as next prime minister as per his petition.

In a landmark decision, the five-member Constitutional Bench had ruled that rejection of Deuba's claim to be appointed prime minister with the support of 149 lawmakers of the 275-member House of Representatives as per Article 76 (5) was unconstitutional.

Deuba is set to take the oath of office and secrecy by Tuesday evening and is likely to form a small Cabinet.

Ministers to be inducted in the Cabinet are yet to be chosen. Nepali Congress President Deuba and Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal are meeting over Cabinet formation before he takes the oath of office, a senior Nepali Congress leader said.

"Once it [the meeting] is over, the names of new ministers will be announced," he told the Post on condition of anonymity.