LONDON, Mar 25 (IPS) – Less than six months after Nepal’s Generation Z stood up in protestThe country has got a new Prime Minister. A 35-year-old former rapper who had sparked protests was swept to power in a March 5 election with a landslide victory.
Balendra Shah defeated former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, whose third term as Prime Minister was cut short due to protests, in his own constituency. After years of fragile coalition governments, in which Sharma Oli and two other aging figures repeatedly changed the role of prime minister, Nepal has chosen to change direction.
Protest led by Gen Z
The protests in September 2025 were triggered by the government banning 26 social media platforms in an apparent response to the ‘Napokids’ trend, in which people used social media to satirize the ostentatiously wealthy lifestyles of politicians’ family members, while most youth experienced daily economic struggles amid high inflation and youth unemployment. In a country where the median age is only 25, the ban was the last straw, activating long-running anger about corruption, poor public services and a political system that refuses to listen to young people.
When youth took to the streets, the state unleashed violence. The deadliest day was 8 September, when some protesters entered the parliamentary complex and were opened fire by police. military-grade ammunitionMany victims were shot in the head. Nineteen people died that day and overall at least 76 people were killed in the protests.
Instead of quelling the protests, the state’s deadly crackdown fueled them, making it clear that this was about much more than a social media ban; It was a struggle for the future of Nepal. Even more people came out on the streets. Sharma Oli resigned on 9 September. Some protesters turned violent, while the military took over security and imposed a nationwide curfew. But soon events took a decisive turn. Chief Justice Sushila Karki was sworn in as the interim Prime Minister on September 12, following which the election process began. interim government agreed to establish The Gen Z Council, a formal body designed to bridge the gap between the government and young people and enable them to hold them accountable and monitor the implementation of reforms.
as latest Civil Society Status Report Set shows, Nepal’s movement inspired many others of the year Gen Z-led mobilization. Nepali activists used the gaming platform Discord to stage a campaign that included a radical exercise in democracy, in which 10,000 people participated in the online discussion that led to Karki being put forward as interim prime minister. Moroccan protesters also used discord to coordinate their actions, while the Gen Z movement in Madagascar, where the army eventually Government forced to step downConnect with disorder communities in Nepal to learn from their organizing. Movements in several countries adopted Nepal’s protest symbol, the skull-and-straw-hat flag from the One Piece manga, identifying themselves as part of the same global movement.
Around the world, Gen Z-led protests have typically faced violent state repression, but have been forced to make real concessions: from bulgaria The government left, while the politicians abandoned unpopular policies. Indonesia And timor-leste. In Bangladesh, where a protest movement is going on led by Gen Z removed an autocratic government In 2024, the country recently held its first credible elections in nearly two decades.
change time
The new energy generated by Nepal’s Gen Z-led protests was reflected in the registration of more than 800,000 new voters, the field of more parties than ever before, an abundance of young candidates, and an election campaign focused on corruption and good governance.
The result was shocking. Coalition governments are the norm in Nepal, but the centrist Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won an absolute majority by winning 182 of the 275 seats in the House of Representatives after a campaign using intensive use of social media. All three established parties suffered heavy losses.
Shah used his music to attack corruption and inequality, which resonated with the Gen Z movement during the protests, when one of his songs was seen more than 10 million times on Youtube. But he is not an entirely new political figure, having become mayor of the capital Kathmandu with a surprise result when he contested the elections as an independent in 2022. His track record there is a cause for concern. He has rarely made himself available for media questions and prefers to communicate directly through social media, where he has been known to do so controversial explosion. He was also criticized for deploying and launching police against street vendors. ‘Demolition Campaign’ To clear illegally constructed structures with minimum notice Conflict Between police and local people.
Shah now has the mandate to bring about change and expectations are high. But he faces the challenge of reforming a generally resistant bureaucracy while delivering on his economic promises amid tough global conditions worsened by the Israeli-US war over Iran, which threatens remittances by many Nepali workers based in the Gulf country. a quarter of the country’s GDP. He will need to strike a difficult foreign policy balance between Nepal’s two powerful and often hostile neighbors, China and India. The new government will also have to ensure that Accountability Human rights violations during the 2025 protests began with the release of a report by a commission set up to investigate deaths in the protests, which has not yet been made public.
Given these challenges and the huge mandate, the clear danger is that the government will take a heavy-handed approach, push through change and fail to listen. This is precisely when civil society needs to step up to hold the new government accountable and ensure that it respects human rights, including the right to express dissent.
Nepal’s Gen Z movement should be wary of co-option by the new administration. The new government should acknowledge the important role of Nepal’s vocal youth generation by moving quickly to form and resource the Gen Z Council and fully respecting its autonomy. The movement that helped bring Shah to power must continue.
Andrew Firmin is the editor-in-chief, co-director and writer of Civicus civicus lens and co-author of Civil Society Status Report.
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