KATHMANDU: A group of 30 prominent civil society figures has called on the top leaders of major political parties to apologize to the public and voluntarily retire from politics.

In a joint appeal issued on Wednesday, the signatories urged political leaders to ensure that the next elections are held on schedule.

“This is not only about the relevance or future of any particular party,” the appeal stated.

“It is about the survival of democracy and the party system itself. Resignation and voluntary retirement have become inevitable to make party leaderships accountable to the people,” reads the statement.

The civil leaders emphasized that decades of political stagnation, corruption, and misuse of authority have eroded public trust, demanding a moral reset within Nepal’s political establishment.

The statement was issued by Archana Thapa, Charan Prasai, Meena Paudel, Indra Adhikari, Chandrakishor, Rajani Dhakal, Uddhav Pyakurel, Jhalak Subedi, Rajaram Gautam, Uttam Babu Shrestha, Dinesh Tripathi, Lok Raj Baral, Kosmos Bishwakarma, Dipesh Ghimire, Bidyadhar Mallik, Krishna Khanal, Dovan Rai, Binod Sijapati, Kedar Bhakta Mathema, Taranath Dahal, Sangeeta Lama, Keshav Dahal, Tula Narayan Shah, Sanjiv Upreti, Khagendra Sangraula, Bhojraj Pokharel, Shrawan Mukarung, Geja Sharma Wagle, Muma Ram Khanal, and Yug Pathak.