Nepal PM Oli resigns as protests spiral

• Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on September 9 as anti-corruption demonstrators defied an indefinite curfew and clashed with police, a day after 19 people died in violent protests triggered by a social media ban.

• Oli’s government lifted the social media ban after protests turned violent.

• The unrest is the worst in decades in the Himalayan country.

• Veteran communist politician Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s PM on July 15, 2024. 

• Nepal has been politically unstable since it abolished a 239-year-old monarchy in 2008. 

• Oli’s government was the 14th since, with Oli himself returning for his fourth term.

• Oli, 73, began his fourth term after his Communist Party forged a coalition government with the centre-left Nepali Congress.

• Dissatisfaction has grown with political instability, corruption, and slow economic development in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people.

‘Gen Z’ protests over social media ban

• Several social media sites — including Facebook, YouTube and X — were inaccessible in Nepal since September 5 after the government blocked 26 unregistered platforms, leaving users angry.

• The cabinet had decided in August to give the affected companies seven days to register in Nepal, establish a point of contact and designate a resident grievance handling officer and compliance officer.

• Officials said the shutdown was for those social media platforms that had failed to register with the government, amid a crackdown on fake IDs, misinformation and hate speech.

• Popular platforms such as Instagram have millions of users in Nepal.

• The government blocked access to the Telegram messaging app in July, citing a rise in online fraud and money laundering.

• Protests were triggered by the ban.

• Organisers of the protests called them “demonstrations by Gen Z”. 

• They said the protests reflect young people’s widespread frustration with the government’s perceived lack of action to tackle corruption and boost economic opportunities.

• On September 9, the Nepal government rolled back the social media ban following the protests.

• Oli called a meeting of all political parties, saying violence is not in the interest of the nation and to resort to peaceful dialogue to find solutions to any problem.

• But anger against the government showed no signs of abating, as protesters gathered in front of Parliament and other places in the capital Kathmandu, in defiance of an indefinite curfew imposed by authorities.

• Hundreds of people from some towns located near the India-Nepal border had started marching towards Kathmandu to support the protesters.