On Thursday, as Nepal experienced two days of deadly unrest leading to the ousting of a government accused of corruption, thousands of young individuals gathered for a heated debate to determine their nation’s next leader. The country’s mainstream politicians were discredited in their eyes, as 14 governments representing three parties have taken turns governing since 2008, after Nepal adopted a new constitution and abolished its monarchy.
The trust in the country’s political system had been severely shaken due to a brutal crackdown on protesters by security forces, resulting in at least 72 deaths. These young individuals were seeking a consensus leader who could guide the nation of 30 million people out of chaos and address corruption and nepotism.
To select their leader, they used an unprecedented approach for an electoral democracy – a virtual poll on Discord, a US-based messaging platform primarily used by online gamers.
Organized by Hami Nepal, a Gen Z group behind the protest with over 160,000 members, the online debate brought together more than 10,000 people, including those from the Nepali diaspora. Due to login failures, a mirrored livestream was held on YouTube to allow more people to participate in the discussion.
After debates and questions to protest leaders, participants chose former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead Nepal. The 73-year-old took the oath as the country’s interim prime minister on Friday.
Analysts believe Nepal’s transition is just beginning, and the approach protesters took to choose their leader highlights a chaotic new experiment in democracy, with both challenges and opportunities.
The Discord debate allowed participation from more people compared to traditional closed-door politician-led decision-making processes. While the government had restricted the use of Discord, the platform allowed users to connect through texts, calls, and media sharing.
Tens of thousands of young protesters took to the streets on Tuesday, burning government buildings and forcing the prime minister KP Sharma Oli to resign. The president later dissolved parliament and called for a general election in March.
By then, Nepal’s Gen Z protesters had turned to Discord to decide their nation’s interim leader until March. The discussions on the platform included matters such as jobs, police and university reforms, and government healthcare.
Five names were shortlisted for the final voting process.
Karki, the winner of the poll, had a history of advocating for an independent judiciary.
The Discord discussions also faced challenges like misinformation and infiltration attempts. The organizers created a sub-room for fact checks to address such issues.
While some participants questioned the legitimacy of protest leaders and called for the restoration of Nepal’s monarchy, the Aminister for Information and Communications Technology stated that false news and rumors could derail such movements.
Experts and observers recognized the use of technology as a strength of the Gen Z movement, shaped by their familiarity with platforms like Discord.
While the protest leaders faced challenges, a consensus was reached that these young individuals were willing to learn and bring about change in their government. The effectiveness of this new experiment in digital democracy remains to be seen.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/15/more-egalitarian-how-nepals-gen-z-used-gaming-app-discord-to-pick-pm?traffic_source=rss
