KATHMANDU, Nepal — Voters across the Himalayan nation head to the polls March 5 in a snap general election that could determine whether a new crop of leaders can break a cycle of instability after last year’s violence shook the political order. For families of the 77 people killed during the Sept. 8-9, 2025, protests, the campaign has become a test of whether the next government will deliver accountability for the shootings and follow through on compensation and support that many relatives say is still incomplete, March 3, 2026.
The election was called after the House of Representatives was dissolved amid the upheaval, setting up a nationwide vote to fill 275 seats and then form a government in parliament. Even as parties pitch plans to fight corruption and create jobs, bereaved families have pressed candidates to address a backlog of investigations and to publicly explain why promises made in the days after the unrest have not reached everyone affected.
Nepal election: how the September killings are shaping the vote
What began as anger over a short-lived social media ban quickly broadened into an anti-corruption revolt led largely by young Nepalis, and clashes with security forces turned deadly. Early coverage described at least 19 deaths as the protests erupted in Kathmandu and other cities, with police using tear gas and rubber bullets during attempts to breach barricades and storm government buildings, according to a Reuters report from Sept. 8, 2025.
As the unrest continued into a second day, the toll rose sharply. Families soon gathered outside hospitals and morgues looking for missing relatives and demanding answers about those shot during the turmoil, as described in an AP account from Sept. 11, 2025.
In the immediate aftermath, interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki — a former Supreme Court chief justice — urged calm and announced cash compensation for families of those killed, while promising care for the injured, according to an AP report published after she took office in September 2025. Many of those families now say the pledges created expectations that have not been fully met, particularly for longer-term assistance.
What families say they were promised — and what they’ve received
Relatives interviewed in recent weeks have described a mix of grief, anger and a sharpened political purpose. Some have joined campaign efforts, saying they want the next government to release the findings of a state-appointed commission investigating the protests, including the use of live ammunition, and to ensure prosecutions where wrongdoing is found.
While some families say they have received compensation, others say support has been uneven and tied to official designations that excluded some victims. Reuters reported that the interim government paid 1.5 million Nepalese rupees to families of 42 of the 77 people killed who were declared “martyrs,” while relatives also described unmet promises that included job opportunities, longer-term medical support and pension provisions in a Reuters special report focused on victims’ families.
“Those in power forgot about families like ours,” said Parbati Subedi, whose husband was killed in the unrest, in comments reported by Reuters. “Putting two meals on the table is a daily struggle.”
Candidates pitching change — and a return
The March 5 vote has also become a referendum on whether established parties can regain the confidence of younger voters who drove last year’s protests, and whether reformist figures can translate street energy into workable governance. Among the leading contenders is Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old former rapper and former Kathmandu mayor running with the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, facing veteran communist leader Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, 74, who is seeking a return to the top post after resigning during last year’s unrest.
Other prominent figures include Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa, 49, and former Maoist insurgent leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, 71, who now leads the Nepali Communist Party. A Reuters explainer noted that nearly 19 million people are eligible to vote, about one million of them added to voter rolls after last year’s protests, and that the contest is being shaped by corruption, job creation and Nepal’s balancing act with India and China, detailed in its breakdown of who is running and what is at stake.
An AP overview of the leading contenders described the race as unfolding against a long backdrop of frequent leadership changes since the monarchy was abolished in 2008, with the next prime minister expected to emerge through coalition building after the House of Representatives results are finalized.
Election mechanics are also central to coalition math. The mixed system uses direct contests to fill 165 seats, with the remaining seats allocated through proportional representation. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems election snapshot lists 18,903,689 registered voters and outlines how the early election was triggered by the dissolution of the House of Representatives following the September 2025 protests.
A familiar pattern of coalition politics, now under sharper scrutiny
For many voters, the upheaval of 2025 hardened a frustration that had been building long before the protests: rotating coalition governments, repeated promises to tackle corruption and few improvements in economic opportunity for young people. That discontent has been fueled by years of fragmented election results and complex alliance-making, including the 2022 election cycle that analysts said was likely to produce another hung parliament, as described in a Reuters dispatch from November 2022.
This time, families of those killed in the September uprising say they are watching not just who wins, but what happens next: whether the promised investigation results are published, whether compensation is applied consistently, and whether the new government treats the deaths as a closed chapter or an open wound requiring legal accountability.
What comes next
Election authorities have urged parties and candidates to follow campaign rules and avoid actions that could inflame tensions in the final stretch. Voters can find official guidance on restrictions and enforcement in the Election Commission’s code of conduct for House elections.
For bereaved relatives, the stakes are deeply personal. Many say their participation in the campaign — whether by voting, volunteering or speaking publicly — is rooted in the same demand: that the next government treat justice and long-term support for victims’ families as part of the country’s recovery, not as a campaign slogan.
