Rapper-mayor leads PM race as Nepal votes to replace government felled by Gen Z protests

Last year, discontent over corruption sparked a violent agitation that collapsed the government and threw Nepal into political turmoil. As 19 million people prepare to elect a new administration on 5 March, the jobs crisis remains a top concern. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports AsiaSouth AsiaRapper-mayor leads PM race as Nepal votes to replace government felled by Gen Z protestsLast year, discontent over corruption sparked a violent agitation that collapsed the government and threw Nepal into political turmoil. As 19 million people prepare to elect a new administration on 5 March, the jobs crisis remains a top concern. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reportsWednesday 04 March 2026 03:14 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverRelated: Former Nepal PM’s house engulfed in flames during corruption protestsYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreThe small Himalayan nation of Nepal is heading to polls this week, almost six months after a violent Gen Z-led protest brought the government to its knees and forced prime minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.Around 800,000 first-time voters will be among nearly 19 million people to cast their ballots on Thursday to choose members of the 275-seat House of Representatives, in what is widely being framed as a contest between the political old guard and an impatient new generation.Last September’s protest, which resulted in the death of 77 people, exposed the scale of youth anger over corruption and scarce jobs in a country where one in five young adults is unemployed. Since then, following in Bangladesh’s footsteps, Nepal has been governed by an interim administration, which promised accountability for the killings and fresh elections.Nepal, a Hindu-majority nation of 30 million people, is preparing to celebrate Holi, the festival that marks the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil. The election will be held the following day."We will celebrate Holi on Wednesday and we will celebrate democracy on Thursday. It is a positive omen," Aadarash Thapa, a 19-year-old college student from the capital Kathmandu, who was part of last year's protest, tells The Independent."It is spring and it is time for a new government. Hopefully, we will play with colours once again after the results are declared," adds Thapa, a self-proclaimed fan of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah.Thapa says he will cast his vote for the first-time this week “for a corruption-free Nepal”.Several first-time candidates, including prominent activists from last year’s protests, are taking on Nepal’s political old guard. However, the race for the prime minister’s chair is shaping into a three-way battle between Oli, young party leader Gagan Thapa, and former rapper-turned-Kathmandu mayor Shah.The winner will be the country’s 16th prime minister in less than two decades, a sobering reminder of Nepal’s chronic political instability since the 2008 abolition of the monarchy.Over 3,400 candidates from 63 political parties are contesting, nearly two in five of them under 35.The demographic make-up of the contestants is a reflection of the population, nearly two-thirds of which is also under 35. open image in galleryFile. Fire rages through the Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, in Kathmandu on 9 September 2025, a day after a police crackdown on demonstrations over social media prohibitions and corruption by the government (AFP via Getty)With youth unemployment at 20.6 per cent, the highest in South Asia and Southeast Asia, according to the World Bank, Nepal today is a portrait of the failure of successive governments to tackle the jobs crisis.The largest political parties are vowing to tackle unemployment by fixing the outflow of workers that started when the country liberalised its economy in 1991 and private recruitment agencies set up shop. Widely seen as the frontrunner riding on the popularity of its prime ministerial candidate, the mayor Shah, the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has promised to create 1.2 million jobs to reduce forced migration. The Nepali Congress, the country's oldest political party, has pledged to generate 1.5 million jobs and slash the outflow of workers by half in the next five years.At a rally in Kathmandu as rap music blares, people wait eagerly for Shah, 35, to take t