Nepal’s new leader vowed on Sunday to follow protesters’ demands to “end corruption” as she began work as interim prime minister after “Gen Z” youth demonstrations ousted her predecessor.
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Sushila Karki, the 73-year-old former chief justice, has been tasked with restoring order and addressing protesters’ demands for a corruption-free future ahead of elections in six months.
Protests began on Monday, sparked by a ban on social media, which quickly escalated, with parliament and key government buildings set ablaze as they fed into long-standing economic woes in Nepal.
“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” said Karki in her first public comments since taking office on Friday.
A fifth of people in Nepal aged 15-24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank, with GDP per capita standing at just US$1,447.
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“What this group is demanding is an end to corruption, good governance and economic equality,” she added. “You and I have to be determined to fulfil that.”