Sushila Karki was sworn in as Nepal’s interim Prime Minister, becoming the country’s first woman to hold the office. The oath-taking ceremony took place at Nepal’s Rashtrapati Bhawan following days of intense negotiations and speculation. It was also announced that general elections will be held on March 5, 2026.
Present at the ceremony were President Ramchandra Paudel, Vice President Ram Sahay Yadav, Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Rawat, and newly appointed Prime Minister Karki. India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, also extended his congratulations to the interim Prime Minister.
The presidential office confirmed the appointment after consensus was reached among President Paudel, Nepal Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel, and leaders of the Generation Z protest movement. The youth-led protests, which demanded action against corruption and unemployment, catalyzed the resignation of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli earlier this week.
While Sushila Karki emerged as the consensus candidate after several days of consideration, other figures such as Kulman Ghising, known for ending Nepal’s power crisis, and Kathmandu’s popular young mayor and rapper Balendra Shah, also received backing from different protest factions.
Karki, who served as Nepal’s first female Chief Justice from 2016 to 2017, is known for her firm stance against corruption. Her judicial career was marked by controversy when the government filed an impeachment motion against her within a year of her appointment—a move that was ultimately dropped following public outcry. Disheartened by the episode, she eventually resigned from the judiciary.
