Election Commission results from 161 of 165 constituencies showed the newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) winning four seats and leading in 110, pointing to a major upset in Nepal’s first general election since the violent Gen Z protests. The data suggested a sweeping rejection of long-dominant parties in the politically fragile country, where 14 governments have fallen in the past 18 years.
Balendra Shah — popularly known as Balen — was a standout figure. The 35-year-old engineer and former Kathmandu mayor was leading by more than 10,000 votes in Jhapa-5 against four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli in what had been considered Oli’s stronghold. With the RSP’s strong performance, Shah is widely viewed as a likely candidate to become Nepal’s next prime minister.
India said it looks forward to working with the incoming Nepali government and reaffirmed support for Nepal’s peace, progress and stability. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted India had provided logistical assistance for the elections at Nepal’s request.
Balen had been a popular choice to lead an interim government after Gen Z protesters toppled the Oli-led coalition in September, following two days of nationwide demonstrations against corruption and a social media ban. He declined then, saying he preferred to seek a full term through parliamentary elections. In January he joined the RSP — founded in 2022 and led by television personality-turned-politician Ravi Lamichhane — and was named the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
Other results were mixed. The Shram Sanskriti Party led in six constituencies. RSP candidate Ranju Darshana won Kathmandu-1 with 15,455 votes. Nepali Congress’s Yogesh Gauchan Thakali won Mustang with 3,307 votes. Former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda held Rukum Purba with 10,240 votes, defeating CPN (UML) challenger Lilamani Gautam, who took 3,462. The RSP was leading in all 10 Kathmandu constituencies.
Voter turnout for the House of Representatives vote was about 60 percent. Counting, which began late Thursday night, was expected to conclude soon, the Election Commission said.
Nepal’s 18.9 million eligible voters were choosing 275 House members: 165 by direct first-past-the-post voting and 110 by proportional representation. Roughly 3,400 candidates contested the 165 direct seats, and about 3,135 contested the 110 proportional seats.
The Gen Z protests on September 8–9 forced out Prime Minister Oli. After his removal, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as caretaker prime minister. Protesters had demanded anti-corruption measures, better governance, an end to nepotism and a generational change in political leadership — demands that appear to have strongly influenced this election’s outcome.
