Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel on Friday dissolved parliament and scheduled fresh elections for March 5, 2026, just hours after appointing the country’s first woman Prime Minister, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki.
The move followed a week of violent anti-corruption protests led by young demonstrators, dubbed the “Gen Z” movement, which forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign. At least 51 people were killed and more than 1,300 injured in Nepal’s worst unrest in years.
“The President dissolved the House of Representatives … and fixed March 5, 2026, Thursday for the elections,” a statement from Paudel’s office said.
Karki’s appointment came after two days of intense negotiations between the president, army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel, and protest leaders. Her interim leadership is seen as a compromise aimed at restoring stability after the social media ban that triggered the uprising was rolled back earlier in the week.
India, Nepal’s southern neighbour, welcomed the developments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X: “Heartfelt congratulations to the Honorable Sushila Karki Ji on assuming the office of Prime Minister of Nepal’s interim government. India is fully committed to the peace, progress, and prosperity of Nepal’s brothers and sisters.”
The violence, which had paralysed daily life, began to ease after Oli’s resignation on Tuesday. By Friday, shops reopened, vehicles returned to the streets, and police exchanged rifles for batons in a visible effort to calm tensions.
Nepal, a nation of 30 million people nestled between China and India, has struggled with chronic political and economic instability since the abolition of its monarchy in 2008. A persistent lack of jobs continues to push millions of young Nepalis to seek employment abroad, particularly in the Middle East, South Korea, and Malaysia.
Boluwatife Enome
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