I prefer to use the term prologue to describe the March 5 elections and their results because it heralds a time that evokes dramatic feelings. In a parliamentary democracy, polls cause societal metamorphosis. The results of the interim elections are dramatic if not unprecedented. Both euphoria and dejection should be seen as the effects of the democratic practice. To understand the genius of the times, I always look at the events and individuals. Both the euphoria over the elections and their results were tremendous. However, the voter turnout at the peaceful elections was the ‘lowest since the 1991 democratic elections’.

Whatever the figures may be, the elections this time represented a sense of metamorphosis. It also, importantly, represents the continuation of the democratic process contested by multiple parties and individuals. Nepali democratic history has assumed a new avatar this time. What I appreciate most is the efforts of those who tried to give this change the familiar and regular character of a democratic election. There are narratives that speak of those who were involved in tackling the challenging moments of history and turning them into a regular democratic electoral process that unfolded peacefully.

A symbolism of metaphors and metonymy strikes me at this moment. The first is the election results of Jhapa-5, where Balendra Shah, the erstwhile mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, defeated former prime minister KP Sharma Oli in his home constituency by nearly 50,000 votes. Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which won a majority of seats in parliament, is set to form a government, and it is hoped that the 35-year-old Shah will become the prime minister. The other image that struck me was of Mahabir Pun, a creative anarchist, who posted his widely shared jouissance of dancing and singing. Pun, an independent candidate, has won from Myagdi. In this soloist video, Pun parodies the song Euta mancheko mayale kati farak pardachha jindagi ma (what big difference the love of one person makes in one’s life!) sung by Narayan Gopal. He turns that into what a great difference one person’s vote, arrogance, nasty speech and good parlance can make in the election.

The third image that struck me is the calm, confident and dignified persona of the current prime minister, Sushila Karki, speaking before and after the election, surrounded by her ministers and security agencies who played important roles in making the election successful. Similarly, the role played by the acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari and his team has been crucial in making the polls a successful historical performance.

The Gen Z uprising of September 8 and 9 is a text in history that is open to multiple interpretations. When it happened, I saw it as the Anglo-Irish poet WB Yeats said of the Irish Easter rebellion of 1916, which inspired him to say, ‘a terrible beauty is born’ there.

Domestic and foreign media alike have interpreted the March 5 election and its results as the impact of the Gen Z upheaval. The volume of information and interpretation is huge. It would be a tautological exercise to repeat that. But my interpretation of the historical events is in order.

It is natural to see the election results in terms of the Gen Z uprising. That directly impacted young voters and introduced a perception of the mood of the times, or the zeitgeist, that caught the imagination of people across generations. The impact of the movement was evident in the political views of leaders from different parties. It is natural for us to review the policies and behaviours of the parties and leaders at this stage. To take a couple of examples, intransigence and solipsistic attitudes of the senior leaders in the Nepali Congress and reluctance to accept the call for change came to the fore. Similarly, the hard and obscurantist attitude of the leadership of the second-largest party, the UML, and the rigid attitudes of the political parties that vowed to address regional issues clearly revealed their hubris. All failed to win the hearts of the voters.

The successful completion of the interim election has earned Sushila Karki accolades from a wide spectrum of society. Some political leaders were rather rude to her in their discourses. They were non-cooperative. Not having an affiliation with any political party, she expressed her dismay in common idioms. Her accomplishment was tremendous. Her cabinet members also deserve admiration for their successful tenure.

The genesis of the interim government structure says it was the President of the Republic, Ramchandra Paudel, whose stance to protect the democratic constitution and unflinching faith in democracy worked when it was needed. The stand he had taken at the difficult moment should not go unappreciated. Not being affiliated with any party, I did not have many occasions to know him very well. But I remember an eloquent incident. One morning, Paudel came to my house accompanied by my NC activist nephew. Paudel, who looked a little frustrated and serious, had met then PM Krishna Prasad Bhattarai before coming to my house. He said he was in the mood to study and write. He wanted to see my study to choose some books to read. He picked up a book by Sigmund Freud and said that BP Koirala talked about him a lot. I wanted to give him the book, but he said he would buy that and other books at Mandala Book Point and also meet scholars. I arranged that for him. He bought a number of books, met scholars and discussed his interests.

Personas and their roles are important factors in moments of transition and challenge. The new government of the victorious party and others in parliament have a great role to play in transforming society by pulling the country out of difficult times. This election has consolidated the multiparty democratic system in this country, and both the ruling and opposition parties share the responsibility to deliver good governance. The change is a prologue to the creatively challenging new times in loktantrik Nepal.