One year on from Nepal protests, have Gen Z demands been met?

Last September, thousands of young Nepalis mobilised across Kathmandu and other cities in response to a string of corruption scandals and anger over the ostentatious online lifestyles of officials’ children. The demonstrations began amid a temporary government ban on 26 social media platforms; that ban was lifted once mass protests started. Authorities imposed curfews and deployed police and the army after clashes; security forces firing on crowds killed roughly 76 people, hundreds were injured and many more were arrested, and some protesters set fire to government buildings including parliament.

The immediate political fallout was swift: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned the day after the protests began, and an interim administration was installed under former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. Protesters had demanded an end to corruption and nepotism, mass resignations and suspensions of officials responsible for the crackdown, dissolution of parliament and new elections. Many of those demands were implemented in procedure — parliament was dissolved, an interim government formed and national elections were held in March.

The March vote produced a dramatic shift in parliament. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (also called the National Independent Party), led by rapper‑turned‑politician Balendra Shah, won more than two‑thirds of the 165 directly elected seats and Shah became prime minister at 35. Some observers say the peaceful holding of elections and the rise of a new political force reflected public disillusionment with the older parties. At the same time, prosecutions tied to the crackdown have advanced unevenly: former prime minister Oli and ex‑home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested in March but released in April after a Supreme Court direction; both remain under investigation but have not been formally charged.

Despite the turnover in leadership and the entry of many young MPs into parliament, critics and analysts say core grievances persist. Multiple commentators note that high‑level corruption among elites has not been substantively resolved and that newly elected young lawmakers face constraints from party hierarchies and limited experience. Divisions are also growing between those who entered formal politics and activists who remain in the streets, even as Nepal contends with fresh challenges such as recent floods along its border with Tibet that add pressure to governance and recovery efforts.