Early returns from Nepal’s general election point to a possible landslide for the newcomer Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), with established parties trailing in preliminary counts.
Founded in 2022, the centrist-liberal RSP campaigned on transparency, digital modernization and improved governance. The vote was largely driven by demands for political change after last year’s youth-led protests, which began over a proposed social media ban and expanded into wider anger over corruption and economic hardship. The unrest left dozens dead and saw several government buildings burned.
Nepal’s Election Commission said that in the first 24 hours after polls closed the RSP had won three of the 165 open parliamentary seats and was leading in 110 more. By comparison, the Nepali Congress — the previous election’s big winner — led in 13 races, while the Communist Party of Nepal, headed by Sharma Oli, led in 11. A final, official tally is expected in the coming days.
If the current trend holds, the RSP could approach a nearly two-thirds majority in the 275-member parliament. The commission reported about 3,400 candidates contested seats, with voter turnout at roughly 59% in the country of about 30 million.
Counting was described as peaceful by Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane. Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, a 73-year-old former chief justice who returned from retirement to lead the temporary government, also praised the calm conduct of the vote and called it decisive for the nation’s future.
A prominent figure in the RSP surge is former rapper Balendra Shah, known as Balen, who has become a symbol of the youth demand for change. Shah, 35, is a leading contender for prime minister and was running a high-profile contest in Jhapa-5 against Sharma Oli, a four-time prime minister aged 74 who was ousted amid the 2025 protests. Early counts in that constituency showed Shah with nearly five times Oli’s votes, an indicator of broad voter dissatisfaction with older political leaders.
