Nepal voted for a new parliament on Thursday in a high-profile battle between an entrenched old guard and a powerful youth movement, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government.
Queues began early in the morning on the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, and in the usually sleepy eastern town of Jhapa, the site of a head-to-head contest between two leading prime ministerial hopefuls.
“I came early to vote, we have to exercise our rights. Nepalis have been waiting so long for a change from one system to another,” said 60-year-old Nilantha Shakya, waiting to cast her vote at a college in Kathmandu.
“I hope there will be meaningful change this time,” he said.
Key figures vying for power include a Marxist former prime minister seeking a return to office, a rapper-turned-mayor bidding for the youth vote and the newly elected leader of the powerful Nepali Congress party.
View moreNepal’s Gen Z demand for change: After the youth uprising
About 19 million voters are choosing who will replace the interim government after a September 2025 coup that left at least 77 people dead and burned down parliament and several government buildings.
Youth-led protests under the loose Gen Z banner began as demonstrations against a brief social media ban, but were fueled by broader grievances about corruption and a miserable economy.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki promised that people could vote “without any fear” and thousands of soldiers and police were deployed at polling stations.
He thanked voters on Thursday and called for a “peaceful election”, saying the vote was crucial in “deciding our future”.
Voting, which closes at 5:00 pm (1115 GMT), is one of the most hotly contested elections in the Himalayan republic of 30 million people since the end of a civil war in 2006.
The election has seen a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal’s woeful economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for decades and arguing that their experience guarantees stability and security.
“Today feels like a day of celebration,” said housewife Nirmala Bhandari, 50, who danced in the street with friends for a video for social media after casting her vote in Bhaktapur district outside the capital.
“I am confident that the country will get new leaders and we will build a better nation.”
Read more‘We will not stop’: How Gen Z’s anger became a global movement in 2025
‘Blood brings change’
Helicopters flew voters’ materials into the snow-capped mountain regions across Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
But all eyes will be on the hot agricultural plains south of the capital, where all three prime ministerial hopefuls are contesting seats – a departure from previous elections centered on the capital, Kathmandu.
KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader who was ousted as prime minister last year and wants to return to power, is being challenged in his home constituency of Jhapa by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician.
The Jhapa-5 constituency, which has about 163,000 voters, will decide whether Oli secures his seat or Shah enters Parliament.
Shaw, from the centrist Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change as he lined up to vote in Kathmandu wearing a black suit and sunglasses.
In the race to become prime minister, Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the Nepali Congress, the country’s oldest party, told AFP he wanted to end the “ageing” club of senior leaders he was rotating through.
“In the Gen Z protest, people died – and their blood will bring change, we hope,” said 66-year-old Tek Bahadur Ale, voting in Zapa.
“We hope the government will not come this time with good governance.”
More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 seats in direct elections to the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, with 110 more elected through party lists.
Nepal’s mountainous terrain presents logistical challenges in transporting ballot boxes after polling.
But Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said some initial results would be announced within 24 hours.
Results may take longer under a proportional representation system.
Analysts say the vote is unlikely to give any party an outright majority.
It could take several days for full results – and longer if negotiations for a coalition government prove tricky.
68-year-old Lokmundra Devi Dahal said in Zapa that she expects a better change this time.
“I have seen many elections in my life – and many old leaders too,” he said.
(With FRANCE 24 AFP)
(tags to be translated)Asia / Pacific(T)Nepal(T)Election(T)General Z
