Nepal’s streets were still smouldering on Thursday when tens of thousands of young people logged onto Discord to do what their country’s leaders couldn’t: pick someone to run the place.
After days of protests over corruption and a violent crackdown that killed at least 72 people, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was out, parliament was dissolved, and Nepal’s social media ban was lifted. Within hours, the group behind the protests, Hami Nepal, opened up a live debate on its “Youth Against Corruption” Discord server to choose an interim leader.
More than 10,000 people joined the voice rooms, with thousands more watching on YouTube mirrors. The names being debated weren’t the usual party bosses but activists, local politicians, and even YouTubers. After hours of back-and-forth, fact-checking and real-time phone calls to potential candidates, the vote went to Sushila Karki, Nepal’s former Supreme Court chief justice known for jailing a minister for corruption and resisting an impeachment attempt in 2017. She was sworn in Friday as interim prime minister.
For protesters, it was a direct rebuke to Nepal’s old political elite — 14 governments from three main parties since 2008, none of which, they say, fixed corruption or nepotism. For outside observers, it was a radical experiment: a country of 30 million suddenly running a national leadership contest on a US-based app built for gamers.
Five names made the final ballot, from Dharan mayor Harka Sampang to social innovator Mahabir Pun, but Karki emerged as the consensus choice. Analysts warn Nepal’s transition has only begun, but the Discord poll shows just how far its politics have slipped the leash.
In other words: the first prime minister in history chosen by a massive voice chat.
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