Nepal holds a pivotal election as youth challenge the old guard, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government.
KATHMANDU: Nepal voted for a new parliament in a high-stakes showdown between an entrenched political old guard and a powerful youth movement.
The election comes six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government, killing at least 77 people and torching parliament.
Nearly 19 million voters are choosing who replaces the interim government installed after the September 2025 uprising.
Youth-led protests under a loose Gen Z banner began against a social media ban but were fueled by wider grievances over corruption and a woeful economy.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki urged a “peaceful election”, calling the vote critical in “determining our future”.
The polls are among the most hotly contested since the end of Nepal’s civil war in 2006, with thousands of soldiers and police deployed.
A wave of younger candidates is promising to tackle the economy, challenging veteran politicians who argue their experience guarantees stability.
“Today feels like a day of celebration,” said Nirmala Bhandari, 50, after voting in Bhaktapur district outside the capital.
All eyes are focused on the farming plains south of Kathmandu, where all three prime ministerial hopefuls are contesting seats.
Marxist leader KP Sharma Oli, 74, is being challenged in Jhapa by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician.
Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change.
Also in the race is Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the country’s oldest party, Nepali Congress.
Thapa told AFP it is “the duty of the leaders” to not let the events of September 2025 occur again.
On social media, voters shared images of their ink-marked thumbs alongside photographs of the September protests.
“At the Gen Z protest, people died — and their blood will bring change, we hope,” said Tek Bahadur Aale, 66, who voted in Jhapa.
More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 directly elected seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.
Analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver an outright majority for any single party.
Full results, including those under the proportional representation system, may take several days to be announced.