A mandate born on the streets
The snap election scheduled for March 5 did not emerge from routine constitutional timelines. It was forced onto the political class by an unexpected actor: a digitally networked Generation Z, which poured onto the streets in September 2025 to protest corruption, elite impunity and restrictions on online expression.
The ensuing crackdown, loss of life and eventual resignation of the then prime minister created a legitimacy crisis that the existing parliament could not absorb. The appointment of former chief justice Sushila Karki as interim prime minister and the dissolution of the House reset the political clock.
This election is therefore more than a periodic contest for power. It is, in many young citizens’ eyes, a referendum on whether the system can reform itself from within.
Code of conduct: a tougher rulebook, if enforced
One of the most visible responses to public anger has been the Election Commission’s revised Code of Conduct 2082.
The document tightens restrictions on the use of state resources, bans the use of children and public institutions in campaigns, and extends its reach clearly into digital spaces, including social media and AI-generated content.
On paper, this is a significant step forward. By naming practices such as deepfakes, paid disinformation and abuse of government platforms, the code acknowledges problems that youth activists have been highlighting for years.
The real test, however, lies in enforcement. Past elections have shown that rules are often applied unevenly, with smaller parties and independents facing quicker sanctions than ruling parties. For the code to rebuild trust, the Commission will need to demonstrate that violations by powerful actors also carry real consequences – including public naming and, where necessary, cancellation of candidacies.
Electoral reform debate: promise delayed
For many reform-minded citizens, another key demand has been structural change in how representatives are chosen.
The Election Commission and constitutional experts have proposed a range of reforms: enabling overseas voting under the proportional system, allowing advance voting for officials on duty, strengthening spending limits and tightening candidate eligibility rules.
Yet most of these ideas remain stuck between draft bills, cabinet discussions and parliamentary committees. With parliament dissolved and elections brought forward, there was neither time nor political consensus to enact deep structural reforms before March 5.
As a result, the 2026 election will be conducted under essentially the same mixed system and legal framework as 2022. For many young activists, this feels like a missed opportunity – necessary to avoid legal chaos in the short term, but insufficient to address long-term frustrations.
Candidate selection: inclusion on paper, continuity in practice
Nepal’s constitutional provisions and election laws mandate inclusive representation in proportional lists, requiring parties to balance gender, caste, ethnicity, region and other marginalised identities.
In practice, however, key decisions about who tops party lists and who receives safe constituencies often remain in the hands of a small circle of senior leaders.
Preliminary candidate data for March 5 shows that, while women and marginalised communities are present in significant numbers on proportional lists, the top spots in many parties – and the winnable first-past-the-post seats – are still dominated by familiar faces.
For Generation Z voters, many of whom entered politics through protest rather than party structures, this continuity signals that internal democratisation of parties is lagging behind street-level demands.
Digital public sphere: between mobilisation and manipulation
The same online platforms that enabled youth to organise protests have become central battlegrounds in the election campaign.
The new code of conduct tries to curb the worst abuses – hate speech, deepfakes, paid smear campaigns – but practical monitoring remains difficult given the volume and speed of content.
If parties continue to outsource online campaigning to opaque ‘IT cells’ and third-party pages, the risk of manipulation and anonymous attacks remains high. Transparent disclosure of who runs which pages, who pays for which ads, and how data is being used will be crucial to building digital trust.
Civil society fact-checkers and independent media will also play a vital role in debunking false claims quickly, especially in the final days before the vote when corrections are hardest to disseminate.
What would count as progress for Gen Z?
Given the compressed timeframe and institutional constraints, no single election can fully resolve the grievances that drove the Gen Z uprising. But there are concrete indicators that young voters will be watching:
- Whether major corruption cases see credible investigation and prosecution, regardless of party affiliation.
- Whether the Election Commission applies the code of conduct impartially, including against powerful candidates.
- Whether parties elevate at least some younger, reform-minded leaders into winnable positions, not just symbolic slots.
- Whether protests and critical online speech during the campaign are policed in a rights-respecting manner, without reverting to blanket bans.
If these areas show even modest improvement, this election could mark the beginning of a new social contract between citizens and institutions. If not, frustration may once again spill onto the streets, and the legitimacy crisis could deepen.
The Leaders’ view
For now, the March 5 polls offer a narrow but real window. The interim government’s responsibility is to guarantee a level playing field and protect fundamental rights. The Election Commission’s task is to enforce its stronger rulebook without fear or favour. Political parties must prove, through concrete actions not just slogans, that they have heard the message from Nepal’s youngest voters.
Whether this snap election becomes a turning point or just another reset will depend less on the date itself and more on how seriously those in power treat the demands that brought the country to this moment.