Millions vote in Nepal as Gen Z uprising tests political order

Millions of Nepalis are voting today in parliamentary elections that will test whether a new, largely Gen Z-led movement can translate last year’s street power into seats in parliament. The vote comes after a youth-led uprising that toppled former prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli and has added momentum to fresh demands for accountability, jobs and governance reform.

The Election Commission of Nepal says more than one million voters have been added to the rolls since the last national election in 2022, and many of those additions are first-time voters who took part in last year’s protests. Protesters who mobilized last September demanded an end to corruption and more employment opportunities, issues that have become central to campaign rhetoric and voter turnout in urban centers and rural districts alike.

Security has been tightened nationwide. Thousands of temporary police officers have been deployed, and army troops that are generally confined to barracks are patrolling streets and guarding polling stations. The government declared a three-day public holiday to allow voters to travel home, and schools and other public buildings have been converted into polling centers where ballots will be cast by residents from remote Himalayan villages to towns across the southern plains.

The election has reshaped campaign dynamics. Established parties, including the Nepali Congress and the main Communist parties, retain deeply loyal voter bases. But a new party built around Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician who won Kathmandu’s mayoralty in 2022, has drawn larger crowds on the campaign trail and emerged as a focal point for younger voters seeking an alternative to the old parties. Shah, positioned as his party’s prime ministerial candidate, became prominent during the 2025 youth movement and has turned his outsider profile into a national political bid.

At the same time, supporters of the ousted monarchy are openly vying for seats, saying they expect to make significant gains and citing what they describe as rising public support for the former king. The possibility of a stronger monarchist presence adds a volatile dimension to a political landscape already marked by rapid realignment.

“This election, all the political parties, whether they are old or new, they are more focused on the youth. That is a great shift in our electoral history,” said Bhojraj Pokharel, an independent political analyst and Nepal’s former chief election commissioner, highlighting how parties are recalibrating to capture the newly energized electorate.

For regional governments and international partners, the outcome carries immediate diplomatic and economic consequences. A parliament that prioritizes anti-corruption measures and job creation could shift Kathmandu’s policy preferences and its posture toward foreign investment and development aid. Conversely, a fragmented result or a resurgence of old elites could prolong political instability that has punctuated Nepal’s public life since the monarchy was abolished in 2008.

As polls proceed and results begin to trickle in, the election will be judged not only on seats won but on whether last year’s streetside movement can be sustained inside the ballot box to produce durable change in governance and opportunity for a generation that demanded it.