Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), founded three years ago, won a landslide victory in the country’s general election, according to authorities, positioning its candidate Balendra Shah to become the next prime minister. The result gives Shah a mandate to restore political stability.
Election results and seat count
Shah’s RSP won 182 seats in the 275-member parliament, the Election Commission said on Thursday, marking the largest majority of any party in more than six decades.
Backdrop of protests and government change
The March 5 election was Nepal’s first vote since demonstrations against corruption last September led by Gen Z protesters that killed 77 people and toppled the government.
Expectations for stability
Constitutional expert Purna Man Shakya said a stable government for five years could be expected if things go well, citing splits over dividing up the spoils of office that had doomed prior majority governments. Nepal has seen 32 changes of government in the last 35 years, which has hurt investor confidence and constrained economic and jobs growth.
Reactions from the winning party
Newly elected lawmaker Sisir Khanal, a senior leader of the RSP, said the party was encouraged by the victory and that the mandate made it very responsible.
Performance of other parties and interim leadership
The election relegated the Nepali Congress to second place with 38 seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli won 25. Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki succeeded Oli as the interim prime minister tasked with holding the election.
Shah’s profile and regional context
The election was dominated by Shah, the former mayor of Kathmandu, whose rap music critical of the establishment brought him wide attention on social media. He is expected to become the first prime minister who hails from the southern plains known as Madhesh, where smaller regional groups failed to win a single seat.
What do you think this election result could mean for Nepal’s political stability over the next five years?
