Kathmandu (TDI): Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel has dissolved parliament and scheduled fresh elections for March 5, 2026, his office announced late Friday, capping a turbulent week of unrest that saw the country name its first woman prime minister in an interim capacity.
The move came just hours after Paudel appointed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead a caretaker government, following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Oli stepped down amid mass anti-corruption protests led largely by younger demonstrators, which escalated into Nepal’s deadliest unrest in years. At least 51 people were killed and more than 1,300 injured.
According to the president’s office, the decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and call elections followed two days of intense negotiations between Paudel, army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel, and protest leaders.
India, Nepal’s southern neighbour, welcomed the development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Karki in a post on X, saying India remains committed to Nepal’s “peace, progress, and prosperity.”
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The demonstrations, which erupted after the government briefly banned social media platforms, only subsided after Oli tendered his resignation on Tuesday.
Nepal, a nation of 30 million people wedged between China and India, has faced recurring political and economic turmoil since abolishing its monarchy in 2008. Chronic unemployment continues to drive millions of young Nepalis abroad for work, particularly in the Gulf, South Korea, and Malaysia.
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By Friday, life in Kathmandu and other cities was slowly returning to normal. Shops reopened, traffic returned to the roads, and police who had been carrying rifles earlier in the week were once again patrolling with batons.
