Gen-G activists and experts have said that elections are essential to take the country in the right direction after the Gen-G movement.

Speakers at the program organized on Thursday as part of the ‘What Next?’ debate series launched by the Gen-G group of Kantipur Media Group emphasized that elections are the main need in the current situation.

Speaking at the first session ‘Gen-G Roadmap’, Gen-G activist Raksha Bam suggested that leaders with similar views should unite to make Gen-G’s issues successful and move forward in the elections. ‘Friends who believe in social justice should unite,’ she said. Another Gen-G activist, Majid Ansari, opined that even if elections are necessary, an alliance formed solely for the purpose of winning the elections will not benefit the country. ‘The demands of Gen-G should be met while protecting the constitution,’ Ansari said, ‘Leadership should be clear in economic and social perspectives.’

activist Vikas Rasaili expressed concern over the lack of will for change even in the new party. ‘There is a problem in our leadership structure,’ he said, ‘it needs to be thoroughly cleansed. For this, the ideas should be clear. The new parties were not clear in their ideas.’ Campaigners said it was unfortunate that the new parties gave priority to those close to them and those with access to them in the proportional list. They said that it was wrong for the party to give tickets based on their popularity on social media. The Gen-G Roadmap session was facilitated by Kantipur journalist Daya Dudraj.

Similarly, in the ‘Road to Election’ session, former Chief Election Commissioner Neelkanth Upreti said that elections are not just a technical task but also a responsibility to the nation and a commitment to democracy. ‘The need of the hour is to conduct the elections in a clean, free, impartial, fearless, inclusive and credible manner as per the obligations provided by the constitution,’ Upreti said, ‘The proportional list submitted by the parties, the process of selecting the election police and other recent activities have also increased the atmosphere of the election. We need to move forward by coordinating from political parties to citizens.' However, he said that the current election is not as simple and easy as the previous elections. 

Former AIG Surendra Bahadur Shah said that even if questions are raised about security, saying that the weapons looted during the Gen-G movement are out, it will not affect the election. 'The weapons of the police have been looted and lost,' Shah said, 'but there is no pressure to disrupt the election.' Gen-G activist Aakriti Ghimire said that the demands of Gen-G will be fulfilled through the election itself. 'The interim government cannot fulfill all the demands of Gen-G,' she said, 'Now the government that comes through the election will address the demands of Gen-G. This is also necessary for the protection of democracy.'