Liza Adhikari, a 20-year-old student, still carries the wounds of the “revolution” in her left shoulder. She goes to physiotherapy every day to regain movement after a bullet shattered the top of the bone in her upper arm. She was shot on September 8, 2025 — the day Nepal’s Gen Z movement faced a deadly crackdown while trying to reshape the country’s political arena.
“I wasn’t pelting stones. I was arranging water for people around me, and blinded by tear gas when the police opened fire,” Adhikari said.
The youth-led demonstrations, fuelled by anger over rampant corruption and unemployment, forced then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign. President Ram Chandra Paudel later dissolved parliament and appointed an interim government tasked with holding early elections.
Nearly 19 million voters have registered to cast ballots in the elections scheduled this week. They will elect 275 members of the House of Representatives — 165 directly, and 110 via proportional representation from party lists. Adhikari said she is waiting to see whether her sacrifice will bring the change she fought for. She believes the youth did not take to the streets to topple a government but to demand good governance and an end to corruption.
“If young people reach Parliament and raise their voices, the impact of the movement may be seen. But if the old parties return to power, and nothing changes, our struggle will be gone in vain,” she said.
The protests exacted a heavy toll. According to Amnesty International, last year’s mass anti-government demonstrations left 76 young people dead and over 2,000 wounded.
Despite being the driving force behind the protests, very few members of Gen Z — those born roughly between 1997 and 2012 — have stepped forward to contest the elections. This age group makes up only about 5% of all candidates. Experts cite structural barriers: a political culture that favors seniority, legal restrictions that bar anyone under 25 from running for Parliament, and the high cost of competing.
Parties and alliances have set significant fees for nominations. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), an alliance of newer forces, required an application fee of 50,000 Nepali rupees ($375) for those seeking nomination under the proportional representation list. Majid Ansari, a youth activist and law student, said such costs are out of reach for many young aspirants. Some who had announced independent candidacies later stepped back because of financial constraints.
Funding issues run deeper. “In a system where the Election Commission lacks the power to regulate party funding, parties systematically favor middlemen, traders, and wealthy contractors as candidates, who can cover their own costs and support the party financially,” political analyst Krishna Pokharel explained.
Some young candidates are trying to break the cycle of expensive campaigns. Manish Khanal, 26, is an RSP candidate in Nawalpur-2 who relies on donations, volunteers, free printing and transportation — what he calls “social capital.” He says he is not distributing money, food or other incentives to influence voters. Keeping campaigns low-cost, he argues, sets an example of transparency and accountability. Khanal is one of 12 Gen Z candidates from the RSP. The party itself, however, has faced criticism for senior leaders using expensive cars and keeping ties to wealthy businesspeople.
Others have chosen established parties to bring Gen Z issues into parliament. Ajay Kushwaha, 27, is contesting from Bara for the Nepal Communist Party. “We have gained space we did not have before. This is also a chance to reform party culture and raise Gen Z issues in parliament in an organized way,” he said.
But some prominent youth leaders have avoided party politics. Rakshya Bam, who played an active role in the protests and in forming the interim government, decided to stay out of electoral contests. “Our rebellion was against old political tendencies. I did not see a clear roadmap in the new, alternative forces either. So, I chose to stay on the streets and demand accountability and transparency,” she said. Ansari prefers to remain part of what he calls a “permanent opposition,” arguing that jumping into party politics now could make them irrelevant.
Analysts say the Gen Z movement challenged the notion that young people lack political interest. “It showed that political consciousness among the youth is strong,” Pokharel said. While young people hold different political views, their shared frustration with governance, weak public services, and lack of accountability unites them.
For those who paid the heaviest price in the movement, the stakes are intensely personal. Adhikari spent 64 days hospitalized and still faces costly treatment bills. She worries that if systemic corruption remains unchecked, the legacy of the protests will be a generation forced to seek futures abroad. “If there are no signs of change,” she said, “then just as I am waiting for the election results now, I may be waiting for a visa to another country.”
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru