Kathmandu, Nepal – As Nepal was burned on Thursday, thousands of young people gathered in a heated debate to decide the next leader of its country as Nepal was accused of a corrupt government amid two days of deadly unrest.

For them, mainstream politicians in the country’s main political parties have been discredited: a new constitution has been adopted since Nepal’s abolishment of the monarchy in 2008, and 14 governments representing the three parties have taken turns while in power.

But their trust in the country’s political system itself has been undermined after the brutal crackdown on protesters by security forces that killed at least 72 people. They want to choose a consensus leader who will dispel 30 million people of chaos and take steps to eliminate corruption and nepotism. Just not in the way countries usually picky.

So they chose Nepal’s next leader by an unprecedented way toward any electoral democracy – through a virtual poll of Cornord, a free messaging platform based on the United States, primarily used by online gamers.

The messy online is Hami Nepal, a Gen Z group protest, with more than 160,000 members.

Hami Nepal ran a channel on a platform called “Youth Anti-Corruption Young People”, where heated debates about the country’s future gathered more than 10,000 people, including many of the Nepali diaspora. As more and more people try to log in and fail, a mirrored live stream was held on YouTube, allowing more 6,000 people to watch the debate.

After hours of debate, which included protesting against leaders’ difficult problems and attempting to contact potential prime minister candidates in real time, participants chose the former Supreme Court chief justice. Sushila Karki Lead Nepal. The 73-year-old was sworn in as interim prime minister on Friday.

But Nepal’s transition is only beginning, analysts say, with the approach taken by protesters pointing out just how the chaotic new experiments in democratic politics seem to be ongoing, with rewards and risks.

“Try to figure it out together”

Disharmonious debate is a revolutionary counter-attack on the traditional practice of politicians choosing leaders behind closed doors, and there is little transparency in the backdoor.

Discord enables users to share connections through text, voice calls, video calls and media. It also allows communication through direct messages or community spaces called servers. It is one of the platforms banned earlier this month along with more than a dozen other popular apps, including Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Protesters say the ban is the last straw for a national campaign against the KP Sharma Oli government. Demonstrators accused it of youth and the representation of widespread corruption and nepotism.

Thousands of young protesters were released on the street on Tuesday Entangled government buildingsincluding the residence of parliament and senior politicians, and forced Ollie to resign. President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved parliament on Friday and called on generals March elections.

By then, Nepal’s Gen Z protesters had turned to discord to decide who should lead their country until March. The social media ban was lifted after being killed earlier this week.

Virtual polls on mobile screens allow participants to nominate their interim leaders in real time, marking a radical experiment in digital democracy.

“People are learning,” said Regina Basnet, a 25-year-old law graduate student. “Many of us don’t know what it means to dissolve parliament or form an interim government. But we’re asking questions, getting answers from experts and trying to figure it out.”

Discussed various issues surrounding Nepal must fight now, including work, police and university reforms, and government health care, as the moderator urged participants to focus on the main issues before them: the next leader.

The vote was finalized by five names: Harka Sampang, a social activist and mayor of the eastern city of Dharam; Mahabir Pun, a popular social activist who runs the national innovation center; independent politician Sagar Dhakal, who fought against powerful Nepal Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2022; and advocated Rastra Bimochan Timalsina, also known on his YouTube channel as Random Nepal, which has been advising Gen Z protesters. and Karki.

Karki became the winner of the poll, running for an independent judiciary during his brief term as Chief Justice from 2016 to 2017. In 2012, she and another Supreme Court judge were sentenced to jail for corruption. In 2017, the government refused the choice of police chief and failed to successfully impeach her as Chief Justice.

In the eyes of discordant voters, this history has increased her qualifications.

“I came in and I didn’t want to be here. My name was brought from the street,” she said in her speech to the country after taking office. “In no case, we will stay here for more than six months. We will fulfill our responsibilities and promise to hand over the next Parliament and Minister to the next Parliament.”

Many who participated in the Disharmonious Debate also suggested that Balen Shah was a popular rapper in Kathmandu as the choice of interim prime minister. The host in Haminepal told participants that they could not reach Shah and later posted an endorsement of Karki on social media.

Many in Nepal believe that Shah may be the leader in the position of prime minister in the March 5 election.

“More Equal”

Aayush Bashyal, part of the discord discussion, told Al Jazeera that he witnessed “the scope of understanding, which is all ‘trial and error’.

“Some people will come to belittle these ideas, which will paralyze the conversation. But, it’s definitely a need for the moment, and it’s an impromptu commonality that can bring as many voices as possible,” he said.

Bashiyar said some at the Disharmonious Forum also called for the restoration of Nepal’s monarchy, which was abolished in 2006 after the country’s left-wing troops lasted for ten years.

“There is also a discord group of pro-bear bishops. Sometimes people share screenshots from chats,” a 27-year-old public administration student at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu told AL Al Jazeera. He called the pro-bear structure group “the infiltration.”

In the same forum, some Gen Z participants even questioned the legitimacy of protesting leaders. One participant said: “You set the agenda, but we don’t know you. How we believe you is another question, too.”

Other issues that arose during the deliberations include investigating the killings of protesters and combating corruption.

“This is the future”

Reporter Pranaya Rana, who sent a popular Kalam Weekly newsletter to more than 4,300 subscribers, said that using Discord makes sense for a Gen Z-led campaign, but it also presents challenges.

“This is much more than a physical forum that many people may not be able to access. Since it is virtual and anonymous, people can also say what they want without worrying about revenge.” “But there are challenges, too, because anyone can easily manipulate users through penetration and use multiple accounts to swing their perspectives and vote.”

Gen Z leaders realized how false information, fake news and rumors derailed this action, so they launched a sub-room called “Factory Check” on their Discord discussion page.

Among the things they debunked is a picture showing protester Sudan Gurung, the chief negotiator for the establishment of the interim government, along with the expelled Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba. The photo was mistakenly claimed to have been taken a week ago, and was actually taken from an incident that happened six months ago. Gurung met with the minister and demanded justice for a Nepali student who died of suicide after allegedly being harassed at an engineering college in neighbouring Odisha, India.

There are also rumors that Gulon is not a Nepali citizen, but comes from Darjeeling, a hilly town in eastern India. A copy of his Nepal Citizen Card was posted on Disharmonious Discussion Room and on social media.

Gen Z organizers also debunked the claim that Gyanendra met with protesters. It was found that the old video of Nepal’s last interaction with young people was being shared on social media.

It was also found that multiple social media handles and profiles claimed to be the “official” youth movement led to local chaos. On Thursday night, a Generation Z leader even called a Nepalese military officer to warn him of potential royal intervention in the formation of the next government.

Reporter Rana said protesters’ leaders made good use of technology and “Gen Z is the best”.

“This is the future. We can speak on the days of the microphone stage or get used to talking freely on online platforms,” ​​he told Al Jazeera.

“Gen Z is childish, but that’s expected. They are young, but they show a willingness to learn, which is the important part.”

Anti-corruption activists and former president of Transparency International Nepal Transparency, Padmini Pradhanang urged Gen Z protesters to protest leaders’ commitment to the “scenes of fiascos – integrity, accountability, transparency and good governance” of the previous government.

“These young people have only experienced Clettock rule. They have never seen real democracy or good governance,” she said.

But the foundation network of law graduates is uncertain.

“At first, it was a peaceful protest. The emotions were celebrated. But the massacre ordered by the state later caused trauma… The uprising and burning of private and public property was frightening, and then as people participated in social media discussions, the discussion of government forming government only exacerbated that confusion,” she told Al Jazeera. ”

“All the events that happened worried me.”