Nepal’s former chief justice Sushila Karki has emerged as the leading candidate to head a transitional government, a representative of the Gen Z-led protest movement said Thursday, following mass demonstrations that forced out veteran Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel held "consultations with related stakeholders and held a meeting with representatives of Gen Z" on Wednesday, a military spokesperson said, referring to the loose umbrella title of the protest movement, without giving further details.
The army is seeking to restore order in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, after the worst violence in two decades ousted the prime minister and left the parliament ablaze on Tuesday.
"Right now, Sushila Karki's name is coming up to lead the interim government - we are now waiting for the president to make a move," said Rakshya Bam, who was among those attending the meeting.
"We discussed with the army chief about the future," she told AFP.
"The conversation was about how we can move forward, keeping the peace and security of the country."
Karki, 73, an academic and Nepal's first female Supreme Court chief justice, has told AFP that "experts need to come together to figure out the way forward", and that "the parliament still stands".
But others warned the choice of the protesters - who are not one single party - was far from unanimous.
In a virtual meeting attended by thousands on the online social platform Discord, young people discussed their varied agendas - and debated who should represent them.
There were conflicting arguments and several names proposed.
"There are divisions," journalist Pranaya Rana said. "It is natural in a decentralised movement like this that there are going to be competing interests and competing voices."
Demonstrations began on Monday in Kathmandu against the government's ban on social media and over corruption.
But they escalated into an outpouring of rage nationwide, with government buildings set on fire after at least 25 people were killed in a deadly crackdown.
Nepali army opens fire to thwart jailbreak
Meanwhile, Nepalese army troops opened fire on Thursday morning to stop a prison breakout, wounding more than a dozen inmates, as deliberations are underway to establish an interim government, local media reports said.
The latest jail break attempt occurred in Ramechhap district of Bagmati province when prisoners broke through several internal locks and tried to smash open the main gate before security forces fired.
“Around 12 to 13 inmates were injured after the army opened fire as they reached the gate,” said Chief District Officer Shyam Krishna Thapa.
The prison holds more than 300 inmates.
Police said the situation is under control and no inmates could escape.
Nepal has seen several jailbreaks following the violent protests, with 15,000 inmates managing to escape over the past few days.
