Nepal's "Gen Z" protesters backed the country's first female chief justice to temporarily lead the troubled nation and called for parliament to be dissolved on Thursday, two days after deadly demonstrations forced the prime minister to quit.
Sushila Karki, 73, who was the first woman to be appointed Nepal's chief justice in 2016 and is now retired, has been the frontrunner to become interim leader of the impoverished Himalayan country, which is wedged between India and China.
Her name had been proposed to the president and army by those leading the protests, a representative of the protesters, Ojaswi Raj Thapa, told reporters.
"We will dissolve the parliament. We are not trying to dissolve the constitution," Thapa said. "We may need some changes to the constitution but we don't want to dissolve the constitution."
The demonstrations, popularly referred to as the "Gen Z" protests as most participants were in their teens or early 20s, triggered Nepal's worst upheaval in years, forcing K.P. Sharma Oli to resign as prime minister on Tuesday, a day after 19 protesters were killed in violence.
The death toll has since risen to 34 and more than 1,300 were injured, Nepal's health ministry said.
Soldiers continued patrolling the quiet streets of Kathmandu on Thursday, and shops, schools and colleges remained shut. Some essential services in the city had resumed.
Karki has agreed to become interim leader, but efforts were being made to find a constitutional route to appoint her, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Local media reported that Karki was in talks with President Ramchandra Paudel and army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel.
Paudel said he was making every effort to resolve the "current difficult situation" within the constitutional framework and to protect democracy and maintain peace and order.
"I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the agitating citizens and to cooperate with restraint in maintaining peace and order in the country,” he said in a statement.
&uuid=(email))