Ex-chief Justice sworn in as interim leader of Nepal

73-year-old nominated in social media chat room with over 100,000 members

- Pranav Baskar

An attempt to ban social media in Nepal ended this week in violent protests with the prime minister ousted, Parliament in flames and soldiers on the streets of the capital.

Now, the very technology that the government tried to outlaw has been harnessed to help select the country's next leader, as more than 100,000 citizens met regularly in a virtual chat room to debate Nepal's future.

At least 51 people were killed in clashes with the police during youth-led protests that convulsed the capital in a paroxysm of outrage over wealth inequality, corruption and plans to ban some social media platforms. After the government's collapse on Sept 9, the military imposed a curfew across the capital, Kathmandu.

With the country in political limbo and no obvious next leader in place, Nepalis took to Discord, a platform popularised by video gamers, to enact the digital version of a national convention.

"The Parliament of Nepal right now is Discord," said Mr Sid Ghimiri, 23, a content creator from Kathmandu, describing how the site had become the centre of the nation's political decision-making.