Nepalese vote in general election months after Gen Z uprising

Complete results might not be known for a week, but trends expected to begin emerging on Friday.Published On 5 Mar 2026Nepalese have voted in elections to elect a new parliament amid hopes for change nearly six months after deadly Gen Z protests forced Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli to resign.Counting at most booths was to begin after polls closed at 5pm (11:15 GMT) on Thursday, and early trends are likely to emerge by Friday, Election Commission officials said. However, complete results could take a week.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Nepal rivals rally on final day of poll campaign, PM urges citizens to votelist 2 of 3Nepal election: Is the monarchy still a force, two decades after ouster?list 3 of 3Nepal’s Gen Z threw out old parties. Will it vote for them in key election?end of listTurnout in the vote to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives was estimated at 60 percent, acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said at a news conference.“Apart from a few isolated incidents of obstruction, the preliminary reports from the national and international observers deployed to monitor the election also indicate that the election has been conducted peacefully,” he said.Turnout in the country’s previous elections in 2022 was 61 percent.The vote comes months after youth-led protests shook the South Asian nation when thousands of young Nepalis took to the streets to demand accountability, jobs and an end to corruption. At least 77 people were reported killed in the Gen-Z-led demonstrations.Security personnel and electoral officials carry ballot boxes to a counting centre in Kathmandu after voting ends in Nepal’s general election on March 5, 2026 [AFP]‘Many people gave their lives’Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties nominate lawmakers based on their share of the vote.