Gen-Z leaders divided as Nepal searches for next Prime Minister

Kathmandu, Sep 10 (IANS) Nepal’s Gen-Z leaders remained divided over the leadership of the next government in the country till Wednesday evening ahead of the crunch meeting with the top leadership of the Nepal Army, which has taken over the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the nation after Tuesday's mayhem in Kathmandu.

The Nepali Army had invited the leaders of the protests for dialogue following Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's resignation from his post amid intense Gen-Z protests against his rule on Tuesday.

Several Gen-Z activists have been holding internal talks to finalise an apolitical figure to lead the next interim government. However, they have not reached any agreement on the name, according to two Gen-Z leaders.

"Several Gen-Z leaders have proposed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead the next government," said Rabi Kiran Hamal, a Gen-Z leader involved in the discussion who revealed to the IANS that names of the former Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Kul Man Ghising and Dharan City Mayor Harka Sampang have also been floated.

Hamal, who has been claimed to be a cadre of royalist—Rastriya Prajatantra Party, however said that he wants a Gen-Z representative to lead the next government.

Karki, 73, was appointed as Nepal's first woman Chief Justice in April 2016 and retired in June 2017. She was briefly suspended from the role of Chief Justice after the lawmakers from then ruling parties — Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) registered an impeachment motion at the House of Representatives in April 2017 against her for an alleged biased verdict. In another case, she was crucial to oust the powerful chief of the anticorruption body over eligibility grounds. Many consider her a very strong-willed woman. Ghising is credited for ending the chronic load shedding in the country as chief of the power utility body and his ouster by outgoing K P Sharma Oli-led government a few months ago had invited strong backlash from the public.

Sampang is a populist leader and was elected Mayor of the city as an independent candidate in 2022 local elections like Kathmandu's Mayor Balen Shah.

Surprisingly, Gen-Z leaders said that Mayor Shah is no longer in the picture to lead the next government after appearing to be the frontrunner to lead the next government until Tuesday.