Nepal’s eight largest political parties on Saturday demanded that President Ram Chandra Poudel reinstate the House of Representatives he dissolved following a week of violent anti-corruption protests that left more than 50 people dead.
In a joint statement signed by the chief whips of the parties — including the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre — the leaders said the president’s decision to dissolve parliament, made on the recommendation of newly appointed interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, was unconstitutional and ran counter to judicial precedent. The statement said protesters’ demands, including a call for elections announced for 5 March next year, should be addressed through institutions elected by the people.
Poudel dissolved the House on Friday after Karki, a 73-year-old former Supreme Court chief justice and the first woman to lead Nepal’s government, took office following a deal struck with leaders of the so-called Gen Z protest movement. Karki was sworn in at a brief ceremony in Kathmandu and is expected to appoint a cabinet within days. Nepal’s army, which had been deployed to patrol the capital during the unrest, returned to its barracks after her oath.
The protests began last week after the government moved to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Although the ban was later lifted, demonstrations broadened to encompass long-standing grievances over corruption and elite privilege. In the weeks before the ban, a “nepo kid” campaign highlighted the lifestyles of politicians’ children and raised fresh allegations of graft that fuelled public anger.
Clashes between demonstrators and riot police escalated into the worst unrest Nepal has seen in decades. Security forces used tear gas and other measures to clear protest sites, and more than 50 people were reported killed in the confrontations, according to authorities and media reports. The joint statement from the parties said those responsible for violence must be brought to justice while warning that dissolving the elected House was not the legitimate way to respond to protesters’ demands.
Party leaders said the interim government’s mandate should be limited to restoring order and facilitating processes consistent with the constitution. They argued that decisions with long-term political consequences should flow from institutions that have democratic legitimacy, rather than from unilateral actions taken amid street pressure.
Karki’s appointment followed negotiations with Gen Z activists, who had made dissolution of parliament a central demand. Supporters of the protest movement have portrayed Karki as having a clean reputation and said they welcomed her leadership of a caretaker government. Observers warned, however, that an interim cabinet will face immediate challenges: restoring public security, repairing and reconvening the parliamentary chamber and other state buildings damaged during the unrest, and addressing deep public mistrust of political elites.
President Poudel had not responded publicly to the parties’ demand for reinstatement as of Saturday. The next steps — whether the president will reverse his decision, seek judicial review, or press ahead with plans agreed with protest leaders — remain unclear. International and domestic attention is focused on whether Nepal’s institutions can stabilise the country without further violence and how the political impasse will affect the schedule for any future elections.