Nepal protest leader says he will run in upcoming elections

The leader of Nepal’s recent youth-led protests, which quickly overthrew the government, has declared he will run for president in the March general elections, declaring that his party will “fight till the end” to establish a people’s government.

Sudan Gurung claimed in an exclusive interview with Sandra Gathmann of Start Here that her organization is already mobilizing supporters nationwide to form a “movement for change” rather than a traditional political party.

He criticized the former government for its “selfish” and “corrupt” politicians, saying, “They have dragged us into politics.” They will receive whatever they want if it’s the political party they want. Because we won’t be reversing our position right away, we will be running for the next election.

Gurung, 36, rose to prominence as the face of a Gen Z-dominated, largely, grassroots uprising.

After the government canceled access to Facebook, X, and YouTube on social media, protests broke out, claiming the businesses had failed to register and submit to the government’s oversight.

However, the protests quickly turned into broader unrest, which was fueled by anger over alleged corruption, state violence, and impunity. Young demonstrators were killed, and thousands more were hurt, in addition.

Through platforms like Discord, which was used to mobilise during the protests, and Instagram, Gurung believes his movement is prepared to govern, with volunteers forming legal and communications committees and gathering policy demands from across the nation.

He claimed that his team is “working to make sure every voice of the Nepalese people is heard.”

Not afraid,

Gurung intends to run “as a group,” but it’s unlikely to do so as an independent.

He claimed that we wouldn’t have this generation of youths if I only ran as an independent candidate. We are stronger as a whole.

Beyond anticorruption, the movement has pledged to pursue a broad range of goals. It intends to promote Nepal’s tourism industry without resorting to “external interference” by strengthening ties with its neighbors, China and India.

According to Gurung, “We need to respect them, and they need to respect us.”

He urged interim prime minister Sushila Karki to expedite investigations into corruption and the killings of protesters and warned against the old political guard from contesting the March election.

Gurung said, “We’ll make sure the investigation is completed on time so that they won’t be able to participate in the elections.”

When asked if he wanted to become the next prime minister, Gurung responded, “I won’t say I’m the right person right now, but I’m going to run if the people choose me.”

He also mentioned how many people have tried to silence him, saying they have been trying to intimidate me and have [been] trying to scare me.

He spoke in a defiant voice despite the intimidation.