Nepal is slowly returning to normalcy after days of violent political unrest, with the credit for a dramatic twist in the country’s leadership goinh to an unlikely place, Discord.
On Friday, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki became Nepal’s first woman prime minister, leading an interim government. But what made the story remarkable was how she was chosen. Gen Z protestors, frustrated with traditional politics, logged on to Discord to elect their new leader.
Discord, a social platform launched in 2015 by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy, was once designed mainly for gamers. Over the years it has grown into a space for large communities, with servers that can hold hundreds of thousands of users. Its simple layout, lack of endless feeds, and mix of tools like text, audio, video, and moderation make it a favorite among Gen Z.
Protestors in Nepal tapped into that power. They created a server called Youth Against Corruption, which now has more than 130,000 members according to media reports. Members organized channels for announcements, fact-checking, ground updates, helplines, and even news dumps. The setup turned Discord into a command center for mass protests.
After Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned, the group decided to vote for a new leader. On September 10, after 7,713 votes were cast, Karki crossed the 50 percent mark, according to reports. The very next day, she met President Ram Chandra Poudel and Army Chief Gen. Ashok Raj Sigdel to formalize her new role.
With curfews now lifted in Kathmandu Valley and other parts of the country, daily life is beginning to settle down.