Nepal's parliament was dissolved late Friday and the country will hold elections in March, the president's office said, after a new interim prime minister was appointed in the wake of deadly anti-government protests.
"On the recommendation of the prime minister, the parliament has been dissolved. The election date is March 5, 2026," Kiran Pokharel, press advisor to the president, told AFP.
Meanwhile, Nepal's former chief justice Sushila Karki was sworn in Friday as the country's prime minister to lead a six-month transition to elections, after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government.
The previous prime minister quit Tuesday as parliament was set ablaze.
"I, Sushila Karki... take an oath in the name of the country and the people to fulfil my duty as the prime minister," the 73-year-old Karki, Nepal's first woman chief justice, said as she was sworn into office by President Ram Chandra Paudel.
"Congratulations! We wish you success, wish the country success," Paudel said to Karki after the small ceremony in the presidential palace, attended by diplomats and some former leaders.
Parliament was later dissolved, and elections were set for March 5, 2026.
The Himalayan nation of 30 million people was plunged into chaos this week after security forces tried to crush rallies by young anti-corruption protesters.
At least 51 people were killed in the worst violence since the end of a civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.
The military took back control of the streets on Wednesday, enforcing a curfew.
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