Unemployed youth scramble for polls jobs

Tens of thousands of young Nepalis have applied for temporary jobs policing upcoming elections, the first polls since a youth-led uprising spotlighted the Himalayan nation’s economic woes.

Nepal estimated it suffered losses of about $586 million and that nearly 15,000 people lost their jobs after protests toppled the government in September.

The youth-led demonstrations, initially triggered by anger over a brief government ban on social media, were fuelled by deeper frustration over corruption and economic hardship.

After a police crackdown killed young protesters, the riots spread and parliament was set ablaze, prompting the government’s collapse. At least 77 people were killed.

More than 27,000 people applied for the temporary police jobs on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of applications, Nepal police spokesman Abinarayan Kafle said.

Sarika Karki, 20, said she was crossing her fingers to “earn some pocket money”. “I am also Gen-Z, but I do not have a job,” she told AFP in the capital Kathmandu on Sunday. “I hope the election will go well, and I am able to help in my own way as a temporary police officer”.