Dear reader,
“Nothing that comes next will be easy,” a Himal piece on the day after Nepal’s 2025 Gen Z uprising said. And so it has proved.
One of the most dramatic weeks in Nepal’s political history ended with a new interim prime minister nominated via an online poll. Demands for a swift new election will culminate in a vote this Thursday, 5 March, where Nepalis will choose between backing established political forces or opting for new faces and parties.
Himal’s virtual cover for March 2026 brings you analysis and conversations to understand Nepal’s pivotal post-uprising election amid the country’s famously fractured and fractious politics. We include a selection of our coverage of the Gen Z uprising.
After the Gen Z protests, Nepalis will choose between distinct political personalities – Balen Shah, Gagan Thapa and K P Sharma Oli – and different directions for the country’s democracy
by Sanjeev Satgainya
Journalist Pranaya Rana and law student Anjali Sah talk to Himal editors about the tired persistence of the Nepal's political old guard and whether a new generation of politics is genuinely possible
by The Editors
In Nepal’s 2026 general election, only a tenth of candidates for direct election are women, and online abuse combined with patriarchy skews the political field against them
by Pranaya Rana and Niruta Khatri
As K P Sharma Oli battles the newcomer Balen Shah in the 2026 Nepal election, the CPN-UML’s turn to cronyism and conservative nationalism under his watch is thrown into stark relief
by Amish Raj Mulmi
The poet Ujjwalla Maharjan, law student Anjali Sah and climate activist Tashi Lhazom talk about how a new Nepal must pay attention to marginalised groups
by Nayantara Narayanan
After anti-corruption Gen Z protests and a deadly uprising forced the prime minister and government to resign, Nepal searches for a new politics that can jettison its failed establishment
by Roman Gautam
Watch out for more coverage of Nepal further into March as the results and the full implications of the vote become clear.
Himal has covered a hattrick of elections across Southasia since the end of 2025: in Myanmar, then Bangladesh and now Nepal. Our tiny team has taken on the mammoth task of bringing you insight and clarity on a region that is home to a quarter of humanity. Help us do more by becoming a paying Patron to support Himal’s uniquely Southasian, independent journalism.
All best
Roman Gautam
Editor, Himal Southasian