Nepal's caretaker leader navigates fragile peace amid youth revolt, party pushback

Chosen for her integrity after deadly anti-graft protests, Nepal's Prime Minister Sushila Karki now faces her toughest challenge: to meet the demands of the protesters who toppled her predecessor and deliver elections in six months.

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The 'Gen Z' demonstrators want the 73-year-old premier to arrest senior party leaders accused of graft, remove politically-connected bureaucrats from key posts, and investigate the deaths of 74 people during this month's protests.

While they support Karki, who showed zero tolerance for corruption as Nepal's first female chief justice, they are also impatient for results.

In a social media post earlier this week, Sudan Gurung, who has emerged as the 'Gen Z' group's representative, supported calls for the “immediate arrest” of ministers in the recently overthrown government of K.P. Sharma Oli.

“We mainly expect her (Karki) to fight corruption. She is our mother and we believe she will protect us,” 36-year old Gurung, founder of nonprofit organisation Hami Nepal, told Reuters. Nepal ranked 107 of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Reuters could not reach Karki on her mobile and messages to her phone remained unanswered.