The office of Nepal’s president announced late Friday that the country would hold elections early next year to replace legislators halfway through their term, a move that critics say could further undermine Nepal’s democratic institutions after protests this past week led to the government’s collapse.

       The announcement, which said elections would be on March 5, came hours after Sushila Karki, who used to serve as the chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court, was sworn in as the caretaker prime minister. The statement from the president, Ramchandra Paudel, said Ms. Karki had picked the date.

       Ms. Karki, 73, was appointed as an official substitute for K.P. Sharma Oli, the elected prime minister who fled his office during the explosive protests. Since Monday, more than 50 people have been killed in a wave of violence marked by police abuses and enormous property destruction after the government banned social media.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.