KATHMANDU: Nepal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepal-votes-in-key-postuprising-polls" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">voted</a>&nbsp;on Thursday for a new parliament in a high-stakes showdown between an entrenched old guard and a powerful youth movement, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepals-gen-z-pins-hopes-on-postuprising-elections" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">toppled the government</a>. Key figures contesting for power include the Marxist former prime minister seeking a return to office, a rapper-turned-mayor bidding for the youth vote, and the newly elected leader of the powerful Nepali Congress party. Election commission officials began collecting ballot boxes after voting closed, with papers to be taken under guard to a center in each constituency, before counting starts. Some winners are expected to be published as early as Friday, but full results may take several days. &quot;Nepalis have been waiting for change for so long, from one system to another,&quot; said Nilanta Shakya, 60, a retired engineer, who was among the first to vote at a college in the capital, Kathmandu. &quot;I hope there is a meaningful change this time,&quot; she added. Voters have chosen who replaces the interim government in place since the September 2025 uprising, in which at least 77 people were killed, and parliament and scores of government buildings were torched. Youth-led protests under a loose Gen Z banner began as a demonstration against a brief social media ban, but were fed by wider grievances at corruption and a woeful economy. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepals-exchief-justice-sushila-karki-becomes-interim-premier-after-protests" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sushila Karki</a>, the interim prime minister, said the vote was critical in &quot;determining our future&quot;. The polls are one of the most hotly contested elections in the Himalayan republic of 30 million people since the end of a civil war in 2006. Thousands of soldiers and police have been deployed. The election saw a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal&#39;s dismal economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security. &quot;Today feels like a day of celebration,&quot; said Nirmala Bhandari, 50, a housewife, who danced in the street with friends for a video for social media, after casting her vote in Bhaktapur district outside the capital. &quot;I am hopeful that the country will get new leaders and that we will build a better nation.&quot; &#39;Blood will bring change&#39; Helicopters will be used to collect ballot boxes from snowbound mountain regions across Nepal, home to eight of the world&#39;s 10 highest peaks, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/hundreds-of-hikers-rescued-from-everest-after-severe-snowstorm" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mount Everest.</a> But all eyes will be focused on the hot farming plains south of Kathmandu, where all three prime ministerial hopefuls contested seats &ndash; a departure from past elections that focused on the capital. KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year and seeking a return to power, is being challenged in the usually sleepy eastern district of Jhapa by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician. &quot;This election must reestablish democracy and contribute to end non-political, anarchic and violent tendencies,&quot; Oli said after voting, insisting his party would win the largest number of seats. The Jhapa-5 constituency, with around 163,000 voters, will determine whether Oli secures his seat or whether Shah enters parliament. Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who queued to vote in Kathmandu dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change. Also in the race as aspiring prime minister is Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the country&#39;s oldest party, Nepali Congress, who has said he wants to end the &quot;old age&quot; club of revolving veteran leaders. After casting his ballot, Thapa told AFP that it is &quot;the duty of the leaders&quot; not to let the events of last September occur again. On social media, voters shared images of their ink-marked thumbs &ndash; alongside photographs of the September protests. &quot;At the Gen Z protest, people died &ndash; and their blood will bring change, we hope,&quot; said Tek Bahadur Aale, 66, who voted in Jhapa. &quot;We hope a government with good governance, no corruption, comes this time.&quot; More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 seats in direct elections to the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, with 110 more chosen via party lists. Analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver an outright majority for any party.

Security personnel and electoral officials carry ballot boxes to the counting centre after voting ends at a polling station during Nepal's general election in Lalitpur on March 5, 2026. (AFP)

Nepal

Key figures contesting for power include the Marxist former prime minister seeking a return to office, a rapper-turned-mayor bidding for the youth vote, and the newly elected leader of the powerful Nepali Congress party.

Nepal awaits results in key post-uprising polls

KATHMANDU: Six months after joining anti-corruption protests that rocked Nepal, 23-year-old Amrita Ban will vote in Thursday&#39;s election, hoping the new government will realise the movement&#39;s demands. Last September&#39;s violence, in which at least 77 people were killed, parliament set on fire and the government ousted, still shadows her today. &quot;It took months to sleep properly again,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;As soon as I closed my eyes, I would hear gunshots, like it was happening right now.&quot; The demonstrations were initially sparked by anger over a brief government ban on social media but were driven by deeper frustration over economic hardship, corruption and entrenched political practices. At least 19 people were killed in a security crackdown on the first day of protests, before the unrest spread across the country. &quot;The candidates I support are those whom I believe will carry forward the spirit of our movement,&quot; said Ban, who worked to encourage young people to vote. Nearly 19 million people have registered to vote in the parliamentary polls, including about 800,000 for the first time. &#39;Political awakening&#39; Young Nepalis largely led the protests, rallying under the loose banner of Gen Z. They do not have a party of their own, but exert pressure and wield significant influence, especially online. &quot;We are not in the election race, but we will still be active in raising our voices from outside, the streets are with us,&quot; said Yujan Rajbhandari, aged 24. &quot;The movement still continues.&quot; Former protesters have backed a surge of new candidates calling for change, and invoking the Gen Z movement. &quot;They cannot forget us if they win,&quot; 22-year-old Astha Basnet told AFP. &quot;There has been a political awakening among younger people,&quot; she added, saying people were &quot;very curious&quot; about the parties, policies and candidates. &quot;There is an excitement &ndash; and also a sense of responsibility &ndash;among the voters of our generation.&quot; Still, some activists warn against equating popularity with competence, or ignoring experience simply because someone is new. &quot;There is a danger to our democracy if we choose populism over capability,&quot; said Riyab Baniya, aged 21. &quot;Right now, those whose voices are louder are getting popular, but we have to be critical &ndash; we have to support people who will take our mandate forward.&quot; &#39;Tired of old leaders&#39; Many who drove the movement remain outside mainstream politics &ndash; raising concerns about whether their demands will be fully represented. &quot;We raised our voices against bad governance and corruption,&quot; said Janak Pokharel, 28. &quot;But the parties and leaders need to have a roadmap on how to address these issues and older existing problems.&quot; More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 seats in direct elections to the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, with 110 more chosen via party lists. Nearly a third of them are under the age of 40, some of whom came to prominence through the protests. &quot;We are not looking just for new faces, we need a change in the culture &ndash; society was tired of the old leaders,&quot; Ban added. &quot;It is a testing period for forces of alternative politics.&quot;

Young Nepalis, leaders of deadly anti-corruption protests that ousted the government, rally first-time voters for Thursday's election, backing new candidates to combat graft and economic woes.

Nepal's Gen Z pins hopes on post-uprising elections

Maham Khan

ISLAMABAD: Youth-led protests are reshaping political activism across Asia and Africa in 2025, with digital media emerging as a powerful tool for demanding systemic change. The &quot;Gen Z Protests&quot; began in Bangladesh in July 2024, led by young Bengali students demanding the removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In 2025, similar youth-led protests spread from Timor-Leste and the Philippines to Nepal, Morocco, and Madagascar, driven by issues like corruption, economic inequality, infrastructure failures, and mass censorship. Madagascar targets elite control In Madagascar, protests erupted in September 2025 over prolonged water and power outages, widespread poverty, and government corruption. Protestors also condemned political elites. The World Bank reported that Madagascar&#39;s income per capita has fallen by 45% since 1960, with a &quot;small, unaccountable elite&quot; maintaining tight control over the economy, according to Reuters. Protesters have highlighted this inequality, using digital platforms to expose systemic issues. According to Reuters, the demonstrations have been &quot;the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years,&quot; with protesters demanding the president&#39;s resignation and the dissolution of key government institutions. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/83df9db8-ae2c-41ce-8eb3-626969019c3d-Madagascar police react to protesters demonstrating against chronic electricity and water cuts in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP).jpg" alt="Madagascar police react to protesters demonstrating against chronic electricity and water cuts in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic" style="line-height: 2;">Madagascar police react to protesters demonstrating against chronic electricity and water cuts in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP)</figcaption></figure>Social media fuels coordination The digital strategy driving these protests is remarkably sophisticated. Inspired by youth-led movements in Kenya and Nepal, Madagascar&#39;s Gen Z activists have used social media to coordinate nationwide demonstrations. &quot;This is not a retreat but a strategy: we will come back together more united, stronger,&quot; the protest movement&#39;s leadership declared in a Facebook post, as reported by Reuters on Thursday. The protests have spread beyond the capital, with protestors in far-off cities also chanting &quot;Rajoelina Out&quot; and carrying banners denouncing the government. Despite the country&rsquo;s president dissolving the government on Monday, AP reported that public anger continues to simmer. Nepal&rsquo;s activism blueprint Nepal&#39;s recent protests offer a blueprint for digital activism. When the government banned 26 social media platforms on September 4, 2025, activists shifted to alternative channels like Discord and used VPNs to bypass restrictions. The widespread youth-led protests escalated, leading to violent clashes and the eventual resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The movement showed how digital tools can directly challenge political power. Digital power driving change These movements reveal a fundamental shift in political engagement. Digital platforms have transformed from communication tools to instruments of political change, allowing young people to organize, broadcast their messages, and challenge existing power structures with unprecedented speed and coordination.

People protest against corruption and calling for healthcare and education reform, in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (AP)

Blogs

Youth-led Gen Z protests began in Bangladesh in 2024 and spread across Asia and Africa by 2025. Using digital platforms, activists oppose corruption, inequality, and poor infrastructure, demanding political change and elite accountability.

Gen Z protests: Digital platforms fuel change from Asia to Africa

Reuters

ANTANANARIVO: Organisers of Madagascar&#39;s youth-led anti-government protests suspended marches in the capital Antananarivo on Thursday for 24 hours, citing concerns over demonstrators&#39; health and strength, but marches continued in other parts of the large island nation. Inspired by similar youth-led &quot;Gen Z&quot; protests in Kenya and Nepal, the rallies mark the largest wave of unrest in Madagascar in years and pose a significant challenge to President Andry Rajoelina, who was re-elected in 2023. The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured so far in the week-long protests. The government rejects those figures. &quot;This is not a retreat but a strategy: we will come back together more united, stronger,&quot; Gen Z Madagascar, the protest movement&#39;s main leadership, said in a Facebook post, announcing the temporary suspension of protests in Antananarivo. A government spokesperson did not respond to Reuters&#39; requests for comment. Public anger over water shortages, power cuts Rajoelina dissolved the government late on Monday, but the move has failed to quell public anger, which first erupted last week in the capital over worsening water shortages and power cuts. The protesters are demanding Rajoelina&#39;s resignation and the dissolution of the election commission, the upper chamber Senate, and the country&#39;s top court. Protests continued outside the capital on Thursday, with hundreds marching in Toliara, some 925 km south of Antananarivo, chanting &quot;Rajoelina Out&quot; and carrying banners denouncing the president, footage aired by privately-owned Radio T&eacute;l&eacute;vision Siteny showed. In Diego Suarez, 950 km north of the capital, protesters were also marching under police escort, according to privately-owned media outlet Fitaproduction. Reliant on agriculture and tourism, the Indian Ocean nation remains one of Africa&#39;s poorest. Entrenched poverty, unaccountable elites Since Madagascar won independence from France in 1960, income per capita had fallen by 45% by 2020, according to the World Bank, which blames the poor economic performance on tight control of the economy and government by a small, unaccountable elite and on a lack of competition and transparency. Some demonstrators have carried flags depicting a grinning skull wearing a straw hat, in reference to a pirate flag from a Japanese manga that has become a popular symbol among young protesters around the world. &quot;The protests are not merely about utilities or governance failures; they are a rejection of a political order that has remained fundamentally unchanged for decades,&quot; Ketakandriana Rafitoson, the global vice-chair of Transparency International, wrote in a briefing on the crisis. &quot;Elite networks continue to capture state institutions, siphon public resources, and weaponize poverty to maintain control,&quot; wrote Rafitoson, who is also Malagasy. The Senate convened on Thursday to discuss potential nominees for the post of prime minister after failing to reach consensus on a candidate during earlier deliberations

Protesters gesture in front of riot police officers during a demonstration against frequent power outages and water shortages, in the capital Antananarivo, Madagascar, October 1, 2025. (Reuters)

Africa

Youth-led protests in Madagascar demanding President Rajoelina’s resignation over water and power shortages have been paused in the capital, Antananarivo, but continue in other parts of the country.

Madagascar youth protesters suspend marches in capital for 24 hours

RABAT: Youth protests in cities across Morocco turned far more violent on the fourth night of unrest, authorities said on Wednesday, reporting 263 members of the security forces and 23 civilians injured as demonstrators torched cars and ransacked shops. Protestsbegan on Saturday and have accelerated over successive nights. The demonstrations, demanding better education and healthcare, have been organised online by a loosely formed, anonymous youth group calling itself &quot;GenZ 212,&quot; using platforms including TikTok, Instagram and the gaming application Discord. On Tuesday&#39;s fourth night of demonstrations, young men brandished knives and threw Molotov cocktails and stones, the Interior Ministry&#39;s spokesperson said in a statement.He said 409 people had been taken into police custody. Administrative buildings, banks and shops were looted or vandalised in the Souss region cities of Ait Amira, Inezgane, Agadir and Tiznit as well as the eastern city of Oujda, he said. In posts on social media sites discussing the protests, the GenZ 212 group said it rejected violence and was committed to continuing peaceful protests. It said it had no argument with the security forces, only with the government. The Interior Ministry statement said 142 vehicles belonging to the security forces and 20 private cars had been set on fire. Peaceful protests over economic and social conditions have been recurrent in Morocco, but this week&#39;s demonstrations are the most violent since at least 2016 and 2017, when protesters clashed with security forces in the Rif region in the north. The Interior Ministry will uphold the right to protest in accordance with legal procedures, and will respond with &ldquo;restraint and self-control, avoiding provocation,&rdquo; the spokesperson said.

 A boy is detained while taking part in a youth led protest calling for education and health reforms, in Casablanca, Morocco, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP)

Middle East

Asia

Youth protests across Moroccan cities turned violent on the fourth night, injuring over 280 people and resulting in hundreds arrested as demonstrators burned cars and looted shops.

260 members of Moroccan security forces reported hurt as youth protests turn violent

ANTANANARIVO: Hundreds of protesters across Madagascar demanded the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina on Wednesday, taking to the streets for a fifth day of demonstrations that have shaken the government, local television broadcasts showed. Spurred by the so-called youth-led &quot;Gen Z&quot; protests in Kenya and Nepal, the demonstrations have been the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years, and the most serious challenge Rajoelina has faced since his re-election in 2023. The protests initially started in Antananarivo last week over nationwide water shortages and power blackouts but have since spread across the island, prompting Rajoelina to dissolve the government late on Monday. His move failed to assuage public anger. A message on the protest movement&#39;s Facebook page called for Rajoelina&#39;s resignation as well as the dissolution of the election commission, the senate and the country&#39;s top court. Protesters chant &lsquo;Rajoelina out&rsquo; The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since the protests started last week, figures the government rejects. On Wednesday, protesters took to the streets in the capital and towns including Toliara, 925 km (575 miles) south of Antananarivo, chanting &quot;get out&quot; and waving flags and banners with the words &quot;Rajoelina Out&quot;, footage broadcast by privately-owned Radio T&eacute;l&eacute;vision Siteny showed. They were escorted by security forces in vehicles, and other protesters in rickshaws, the footage showed. A government spokesperson did not respond to Reuters requests for comment, however the president&#39;s spokesperson Lova Ranoromaro said on social media that property had been destroyed and homes looted. &quot;We do not want a coup d&#39;etat, because a coup d&#39;etat destroys a nation, because a coup d&#39;etat destroys the future of our children,&quot; Ranoromaro wrote on her personal Facebook account. Opposition leader Rivo Rakotovao said the main opposition parties&#39; alliance Firaisankina would not join any new government with Rajoelina in power, and called on him to step down. &quot;We fully support this action to rescue the Malagasy people and rebuild the nation, led by the Malagasy people and driven by the youth,&quot; Rakotovao told a news conference. Rajoelina first came to power in a 2009 coup. He stepped down in 2014 but became president again after winning the 2018 election, and secured a third term in a December 2023 poll that his challengers said was marred by irregularities. In a message from the Vatican, Pope Leo said he was saddened by the violent clashes in the predominantly Christian nation. &quot;Let us pray to the Lord that every form of violence may always be avoided and that the constant pursuit of social harmony may be fostered through the promotion of justice and the common good,&quot; he said in his weekly address.

A protester kicks a tear gas canister lobbed by Malagasy riot police officers to disperse protesters during a demonstration against frequent power outages and water shortages, within Antaninandro neighborhood, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. (Reuters)

Protests entered fifth day in Madagascar as the public demanded President Rajoelina’s resignation over water shortages and blackouts. Over 22 have been reported dead even as government reshuffled.

Madagascar protesters demand president's resignation in fifth day of rallies

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Nepal&#39;s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli resigned after anti-corruption protests in the capital led to deadly clashes. A statement signed by the prime minister states that he resigned to pave the way for the constitutional solution of the current crisis, BBC reported. Earlier, three of his ministers quit over the angry protests. Protesters set fire to housesEnraged protesters in Kathmandu had set fire to houses belonging to the prime minister and president, forcing the government to retreat from its ban on major social media platforms. Protests in the South Asian country, which began against the social media ban, turned into <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/14-killed-as-nepal-protests-erupt-over-social-media-ban" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">protests against official corruptio</a>n, leaving 19 dead, according to a New York Times report.&nbsp; As protests spread across the capital, a curfew was declared.&nbsp; Shutdown withdrawn&nbsp;Cabinet spokesman and Minister of Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung said early on Tuesday that the government had rolled back the social media ban imposed last week. &ldquo;We have withdrawn the shutdown of social media. They are working now,&rdquo; Gurung told the Reuters news agency. The ban had blocked 26 media sites, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, in a bid by the government to tackle misinformation, fraud, and hate speech, according to Al Jazeera. &#39;Gen Z protests&#39;Dubbed the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gen-z-protests-digital-platforms-fuel-change-from-asia-to-africa" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">&ldquo;Gen Z&rdquo; protests,</a> due to the predominant participation of young adults and students, thousands gathered in Kathmandu and major cities on Monday to protest the social media ban and systemic issues such as corruption and the country&rsquo;s economic struggles. Events turned deadly in Kathmandu when police reportedly fired live rounds and deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon, and batons at protesters attempting to storm the capital&rsquo;s parliament complex. Seventeen protesters were killed in Kathmandu, and two others were killed in a protest in the city of Itahari.

Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned after anti-corruption protests led to deadly clashes.

Articles tagged with "Gen Z protests"