The demographic dynamics of Nepal has changed fast. Until 2001, the government had focussed on reducing population growth by investing in family planning programmes. But by 2021, the demographic dynamics has changed. Now the worry is how to increase Nepal's population so that we have enough human resources to keep our nation going. The fast-declining population growth has impacted the age structure of the population. The population born between 1997 and 2012, known as Zen-Z population, comprises about 32% of the total population, and in absolute numbers, this is estimated at 9.2 million in 2025. In age terms, the Zen-Z population is between 13-28 years.

Among the Zen-Z youths, nearly everyone goes to school, a large portion of them use social media, and they are not necessarily bound by age-old restrictive practices; they talk and speak freely. Many of them, especially in urban areas, conduct their business using the social media. The coalition government of the Nepali Congress (NC) and Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli found it difficult to digest podcasts on social media because some of them were highly critical of their activities. With the intention of regulating the social media, the government banned them. However, it did not expect such a ban to affect a large and well-informed Zen-Z population.

The uprising of the Zen-Z population toppled the corrupt coalition government within 48 hours. They made history not only in Nepal but globally. However, the achievement was costly, with 74 dead and many more injured in the violence.

The Nepalese population at large were becoming increasing frustrated by the political leaders who have been leading the country since September 2015 when the Federal Republic Constitution was promulgated. KP Oli became the first prime minister of the federal democratic republican Nepal in October 2015. After that, seven governments were formed in 10 years. In 10 years, Oli was prime minister for 5 years and 4 months and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) for 2 and a half years. NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was prime minister for 2 years and two months. Overall, in 10 years, 80% of the time was governed by communist leaders.

Certainly, the Nepalese at large were not happy with the way the leaders were discharging their duties and apparently the dissatisfaction level was the highest among the Zen-Z youths. Their frustration and dissatisfaction spilled onto the streets on September 8, 2025, which toppled the unpopular government and paved the way for the formation of a new government with the agenda of cleaning up the political mess and charting a new roadmap for a new Nepal.

The 2015 Federal Constitution enshrines inclusive principles. In its Preamble, it clearly mentions that in order to 'build an egalitarian society' it has adopted 'the proportional, inclusive, and participatory principles'. The leaders who were entrusted with implementing the constitution did nothing in this respect. Although the vision of the constitution is good, the politico-administrative structure it created is highly burdensome for a resource poor nation like Nepal.

Most of the hard-earned resources are used up for paying the salaries and perks of politicians, with the annual budget allocating more than 60% for this purpose at the cost of development. In order to save resources for development purposes, the provinces need to be dismantled and the number of palikas reduced from 753.

The current size of the Parliament is 275 (165 First past the post and 110 proportional seats), which means there are about 115,000 people aged 18 and above per electoral constituency. In India, about 2.5 million people elect one parliamentarian, and the corresponding figures are about 759,000 in Pakistan and about 500,000 in Bangladesh. In Nepal, the number of parliamentarians in the lower house can be reduced to 170 (100 FPTP and 70 proportional), which would mean about 190,000 people per electoral constituency. And this number would be about 200,000 if the voting age is lowered to 16 as in the United Kingdom now. When a large population is electing a candidate, money will not be a decisive factor; the voters will elect a credible candidate instead. In order to achieve a stable government, the Zen-Z prefers a directly elected head of government. This calls for reforms in the constitution.

Despite the successful holding of regular elections, the results are not conducive to peace and stability, which are sine qua non for prosperity. Zen-Z's aim of electing the executive chief directly from the people for a fixed period is likely to provide stability in the country. The next parliament should not appoint ministers from the House of Representatives, rather they should be professionals with integrity in related fields. Zen-Z's two-day revolution has discarded the current political system, and now the post-revolution interim government has to revamp not only the political system but also the civil service.

There are numerous challenges before the interim government. On the economic front, Nepal is becoming increasingly unable to increase domestic production because of wrong investment priorities and depending increasingly on imports and external sources of funds to run the economy. The proportion of government debt to GDP reached 30% in 2011/12, and in the subsequent years it gradually declined to 27% by 2018/19. But again it has steadily increased to 43% by 2024/25. For a developing country this ratio is not bad, but the usefulness of public debt depends largely on how it is utilised. Instead of using the loans in the productive sector, the government has used it to construct expensive view towers, ministerial residential quarters, perks for political leaders, and the like.

Dr Karki holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science