Eminent jurist Sushila Karki, 73, took oath as the interim prime minister of Nepal on Friday, following her selection by the Gen-Z protest groups just days after they successfully overthrew the coalition government they deemed irreparably corrupt.
On Wednesday, Karki was declared the top choice by the Gen-Z protesters to lead the country, although fresh negotiations continued thereafter.
The first woman to hold Nepal’s highest executive office, Karki aims to steer the country toward its next elections, which she has committed to holding within six months to a year. Notably, she also made history as Nepal’s first, and so far, only, female chief justice.
Sources revealed that Karki, who will make history as Nepal’s first female prime minister, is expected to lead a small cabinet within the caretaker government, with the first cabinet meeting taking place on Friday night.
The cabinet is expected to recommend the dissolution of the federal parliament and all seven provincial parliaments.
After three days of protests sparked by the government’s ban on several social media platforms and widespread anger over corruption, consensus appeared to emerge among the Gen-Z protesters on Wednesday, with many backing Karki to lead the caretaker government until the next elections.
However, reports on Thursday indicated some division among the protesters, with the name of Kulman Ghising, an engineer renowned for resolving Nepal’s power crisis, also being suggested as a candidate for the interim prime minister.
Kathmandu’s Mayor, Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician known as Balen, was also seen as a key contender. Popular with most protesters, Shah, however, expressed reluctance to take on the role of interim prime minister and endorsed Karki instead.
Karki, Nepal’s first female chief justice, served from 2016 to 2017. She is widely admired by young Gen-Z protesters, who led the revolt against former prime minister KP Oli’s government, forcing his resignation on Tuesday.
Her tough stance on corruption during her tenure as a judge has earned her significant respect among the younger generation.
