When Nepalese youth flooded the streets of the capital last September, Santosh Jaiswal followed the unrest from thousands of miles away.
After working long shifts in a Dubai oil field, he would return to his small bedroom and watch viral videos of Gen Z protesters clashing with security forces and setting fire to the parliament building. Under increasing pressure, the communist-led government resigned.
Within weeks, he quit his job and booked a flight home.
Why do we write this?
Every year, hundreds of thousands of young people leave Nepal in search of work. These elections – the country’s first since youth-led protests toppled the government – are giving some a reason to stay.
“It seemed like an extraordinary moment,” says Jaiswal, who comes from a dusty village in Nepal’s Lumbini province. “For the first time, it seemed that ordinary young people could oust the old corrupt politicians. I wanted to be part of that change.”
Now, as Nepal holds its first elections since protests that some have called the “Generation Z uprising,” young Nepalis are emerging as a powerful and engaged political force. Young candidates represent around a third of those taking part in the elections, and around 1 million new registered voters – most of them also young – have been added to the lists. It is a surprising change in a country that has struggled with mass youth migration; 40% of Nepal’s population is under 25 years old, but hundreds of thousands of frustrated young people leave each year in search of opportunities abroad, including Mr Jaiswal.
“This election has given some young people confidence that change is possible,” says Jeevan Sharma, professor of South Asia and international development at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. “But that hope will have to be accompanied by deeper economic reforms that create viable livelihoods.”
Nepalese youth forced to leave
Labor migration has shaped Nepalese households for generations, reinforced by slow job creation and an economy that largely skipped industrialization. Today, Nepal’s economy relies heavily on remittances from migrant workers, which account for nearly a quarter of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. Youth unemployment exceeds 20% and approximately 2,300 Nepalis leave the country every day to seek employment abroad, mainly in the Gulf region and Southeast Asia.
“I always wanted to live and work in Nepal,” says Jaiswal. “But there is almost no work. That’s why I went to Dubai, where I worked long hours in extreme heat, like most people in my village.”
Thursday’s election offers a chance to shake up a political system long dominated by the same leaders who have rotated in power since the country abolished its monarchy in 2008. Last year’s protests were fueled by long-simmering frustrations over corruption, rising unemployment and economic inequality.
“There is enormous potential in our country, but the same leaders have been in power for decades and have failed to realize it,” says Yujan Rajbhandari, one of the activists who helped lead the protests.
Rajbhandari hoped to contest the elections himself. But Nepali law requires candidates for parliamentary seats to be at least 25 years old, so at 23, he is campaigning for several friends who are running. Dozens of first-time candidates in their 20s and 30s have entered the race, and newer, anti-establishment political parties, such as the Rastriya Swatantra Party, or RSP, are seeing a surge in popularity. That party’s choice for prime minister is rapper-turned-politician Balendra “Balen” Shah, who has built a strong following among young voters with his outsider image and direct criticism of traditional politicians.
“Our only real hope is democracy in the true sense,” says Rajbhandari. “Nepal is a young country and the old leaders need to make room for younger voices.”
The need for deeper change
Many argue that making room for a new generation is not enough to generate the jobs and accountability needed to stem youth migration.
Outside Nepal’s Parliament in Kathmandu, some of those involved in last year’s protests have been staging a sit-in. The walls of the building bear posters of those killed during the government’s crackdown on protests, as well as areas blackened by fires set when youths stormed the complex.
“Simply bringing young people into the same old system will not change things,” says Aryan Adhikari, 22, who was shot by police during the protests. “There has to be a deeper structural change.”
Many protesters say that would require reforms in key institutions – including the judiciary and the electoral commission – to ensure stronger checks and balances when future crises arise.
But for Jaiswal, this election inspires hope that deeper changes are coming.
Returning to his village in Lumbini, he sits outside a roadside shop with several friends, all unemployed, all watching the rumble of campaign vehicles along the dusty road. Their loudspeakers echo promises of jobs and prosperity while young volunteers hand out leaflets.
For now, Mr. Jaiswal supports his family of five by farming a small plot of land.
“If nothing changes,” he says, “I’ll have to leave again.”
He pauses and watches as the campaign convoy disappears down the road.
“But this time,” he says quietly, “I want to see if my country gives me a reason to stay.”
