In the first election held after the September 2025 Gen Z protests that forced the government of KP Sharma Oli to step down, early trends suggest a major political shift in Nepal.
As vote counting progressed across 150 constituencies on Friday, the three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) emerged as the dominant force. The party won two seats and was leading in another 106 constituencies, putting it far ahead of traditional political parties.
The Nepali Congress secured one seat and was leading in 11 constituencies, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) was ahead in 12 seats. Meanwhile, the Nepal Communist Party, which includes factions led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, was leading in nine constituencies.
RSP leader Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician and former mayor of Kathmandu, was leading his rival KP Sharma Oli in the Jhapa-5 constituency.
Nepal’s 275-member House of Representatives includes 165 seats decided through the first-past-the-post system, with results expected on Saturday. The remaining 110 seats will be allocated through a proportional representation system based on party vote share.
