KATHMANDU: As Nepal went to the polls on Thursday, the country’s Gen Z voters – many of whom participated in the Sept protests that reshaped the country’s politics – turned out in large numbers for the snap parliamentary elections, with students and young workers queueing outside polling booths set up in schools, temples, community gathering spaces. Many travelled for days across the Himalayan country to reach their constituencies.Kathmandu’s roads were largely empty after the Election Commission of Nepal enforced its routine election-day vehicle ban, leaving voters to walk the last stretch to polling stations.
Acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said preliminary turnout stood slightly above 60% at 5pm, adding the figure was expected to rise once data from remote and mountainous districts arrived. The 2022 turnout was 61.4%. “Gen Z voters appeared pleased with the conduct of the polls and that their enthusiasm has been striking. Their passion for voting was high,” he said. Nepal’s parliament has 275 seats, of which 110 are allocated through proportional representation, meaning the final nationwide tally may take several days as ballots arrive from distant regions.Nepal interim PM: Prioritised holding polls peacefully despite uncertaintyNearly 80% of Nepal’s terrain is mountainous, complicating transport of ballots and election logistics in remote districts. A political analyst told TOI a turnout of anything above 60% would be significant, considering that more than 20% of registered voters are estimated to be working overseas. The turnout in the previous election, in 2022, stood at 61.4%.Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, Nepal’s first woman to hold the post and chosen after young activists organised an online vote following the resignation of KP Sharma Oli, cast her vote early in Kathmandu and told reporters, “my duty is complete”. She said her government had prioritised holding elections peacefully despite political uncertainty. “We were careful from the beginning to avoid any bloodshed during the election… polls have been conducted in a frugal manner despite doubts that they could be organised. Incoming government will inherit the expectations of young voters. It holds the hopes of the youth — hope for change and a roadmap for development.”The snap polls followed months of political upheaval triggered by last year’s Gen Z protests, which began after a brief social media ban and widened into demonstrations demanding accountability, governance reform and job opportunities. The two-day uprising on Sept 8 and 9, when more than 70 protesters were killed, ultimately forced the collapse of the government and set the stage for the snap elections.For activists who helped organise the protests, polling day marked the next phase of that movement — turning street pressure into votes.Amrita Ban, 23, a Gen Z anti-corruption organiser who was involved in the Sept protests, described the day as deeply emotional. “This momentous day feels like a rollercoaster of emotions,” she said. “For six months, people kept asking if an election was even possible after all the bloodshed.” She said many organisers felt overwhelmed by the turnout of young voters across districts. Majid Ansari, another Gen Z activist, said youth participation appeared unprecedented. “I’ve never seen teenagers and young people this hungry to vote,” he said. He framed the election as a response to the upheaval that followed the protests. “We began with demands for accountability and reforms, not a revolution. What followed was harsher than we imagined…”Ansari also called for accountability for violence during the unrest from the government that takes office.
