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Kathmandu, October 6
Traditionally, when a prime minister leaves office, the official social media usernames and passwords are handed over to the incoming prime minister, who continues to use the same accounts as they represent the government.
However, Sushila Karki, who rose to power with support from the Gen Z youth movement, has decided not to use the social media accounts previously operated by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Instead, she has chosen to operate new accounts on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
According to a press release issued by Rabi Lal Panth, joint secretary and spokesperson at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the accounts being used by the current prime minister have different usernames from those used by her predecessors.
While former prime ministers used the X handle @PM_nepal, Prime Minister Karki will now use the handle @pmsushilakarki, the release stated.
Why the change?
Officials at the Prime Minister’s Office explained that Karki herself expressed a preference not to use the old accounts, leading to the creation of new ones. “The prime minister said she would not operate the old accounts and wanted new ones, so they were set up accordingly,” a source said.
Ajayabhadra Khanal, chief advisor to Prime Minister Karki, added that since the old accounts still displayed former Prime Minister Oli’s past activities, it was more appropriate to start afresh. “We decided to use new accounts. When a new government comes, we will also hand them over,” Khanal told Onlinekhabar.
Oli’s secretariat only handed over the X account, and that too just this past Sunday, Khanal said. The Facebook and Instagram accounts have not been transferred, which is why new accounts were created.
Currently, both the old @PM_nepal and the new @pmsushilakarki X accounts are accessible to Karki’s secretariat, though most updates are being made from the latter. Official government announcements posted on @pmsushilakarki are sometimes retweeted from @PM_nepal, he added.
Discussions are ongoing with technical teams regarding the management of the new Facebook and Instagram accounts.
