Audio By Carbonatix
A three-year-old party won Nepal's general elections by a landslide, authorities said, positioning its candidate, Balendra Shah, to become the next prime minister, with a mandate to restore political stability.
The March 5 election was the Himalayan nation's first vote since demonstrations against corruption last September, led by Gen Z protesters that killed 77 people and toppled the government.
"If everything goes well, we can expect that it can give a stable government for five years," said constitutional expert Purna Man Shakya, referring to splits over dividing up the spoils of office that doomed prior majority governments.
Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won 182 seats in the 275-member parliament, the Election Commission said on Thursday, the largest majority of any party in more than six decades.
That holds out hope for stability in a nation that has seen 32 changes of government in the last 35 years, battering investors' confidence while crippling economic and jobs growth.
"We are encouraged by the victory," said newly-elected lawmaker Sisir Khanal, a senior leader of the winning RSP. "The mandate has made us very responsible."
The election relegated the oldest party, the Nepali Congress, to distant second place with just 38 seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli won only 25.
Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki succeeded Oli as the interim prime minister tasked with holding the election.
The election has been dominated by Shah, the former mayor of Kathmandu, the capital, whose rap music critical of the establishment has gained him near-rockstar-like fame on social media.
He is the first politician expected to become prime minister who hails from the southern plains, known as Madhesh, where smaller regional groups failed to win a single seat.
His RSP canvassed for a programme to fight graft, create jobs , and more than double the $42 billion economy in five years.
But its firebrand leader, Ravi Lamichhane, a former television host, faces charges of misusing the funds of small savings companies. He denies the accusations and has been released on bail.
Last year's youth-led uprising in the nation of 30 million nestled between China and India followed a social media ban that drew thousands into the streets, triggering clashes and deaths that forced Oli's resignation.
Latest Stories
-
Dr. Gabriel-Tanko and Sesi-Edem Company haul Blakk Rasta before High Court for alleged contempt
8 minutes -
Pay delays, layoffs, uncertainty – Minority caucus raises concern over deepening labour crisis
11 minutes -
Livestream: May Day 2026 celebration underway in Koforidua
16 minutes -
GAF commissions K9 facility at Volta Barracks to strengthen counter-terror and detection operations
17 minutes -
Workers betrayed – Minority caucus blames Mahama administration for deepening hardship
28 minutes -
We need to restructure Ghana’s gold transactions – Dr Atuahene
34 minutes -
BoG’s GH₵15.6bn loss “necessary evil” for macroeconomic stability – Dr Richmond Atuahene
34 minutes -
New footage shows how Trump dinner gunman charged through security in four seconds
39 minutes -
Ministry of Health warns against fraudulent recruitment links ahead of nursing intake
40 minutes -
Nkwanta police arrest 2 with gun, over 11,000 rounds of ammunition concealed in truck
43 minutes -
“I’m so ready” – Black Sherif reacts to 9 TGMA 2026 nominations
57 minutes -
I want to contribute to the museums of inspirations – Black Sherif
58 minutes -
Black Sherif plans comeback to classroom after leaving UPSA
1 hour -
Curfew lifted in Karaga as gov’t maintains ban on arms
1 hour -
May Day : ICU urges gov’t to turn economic gains into real relief for workers
1 hour