A recently established political party, led by a former rapper, has emerged victorious in Nepal’s parliamentary election, according to results released by the electoral commission on Thursday. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), under the leadership of Balendra Shah, secured a significant win in the election, marking the first one since the youth-led uprising last year.
The RSP clinched 125 directly elected seats and an additional 57 through proportional representation votes, totaling 182 seats out of the 275-member House of Representatives, the influential lower house of parliament. Following closely, the Nepali Congress party secured 38 seats in the election.
In Nepal, 165 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected by voters, while the remaining 110 seats are allocated through a proportional representation system based on the parties’ voting shares.
The commission is set to request the political parties to submit the names of members to fill the seats obtained through proportional representation. Subsequently, these members will report to the president, who will summon the new parliament. The newly elected parliament will then proceed to elect a new prime minister, who must garner the support of at least half of the members. The RSP currently holds a significant majority in the parliament with nearly two-thirds of the seats.
The formation of the new government is expected to take several days to complete.
Balendra Shah, the prime ministerial candidate representing RSP, previously won the mayoral race in Kathmandu in 2022. He played a pivotal role in the 2025 uprising that led to the removal of former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
Established in 2022, the RSP secured substantial backing in the parliamentary election, presenting a formidable challenge to the longstanding dominance of the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist—Leninist).
The protests that rocked Nepal last year, triggered by a social media ban, evolved into a widespread revolt against the government due to widespread corruption and ineffective governance. The protests resulted in numerous casualties and injuries as demonstrators clashed with authorities.
