By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Nepalese political party led by a former rapper is headed for a landslide victory in the country’s first parliamentary elections since Generation Z protests toppled the old leadership that has ruled the Himalayan nation for decades.
The Rastriya Swatantra, or National Independent Party, formed just four years ago, had already won 103 of the 165 directly elected seats and was leading the count in 21 other constituencies, according to results released Sunday morning by the Nepal Election Commission.
Other political parties and independent candidates had won a total of 27 seats so far. Authorities were still counting votes Sunday and final results were expected later in the week.
The party’s candidate for prime minister is Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician, who won the Kathmandu mayoral race in 2022. He established himself as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
In Nepal, voters directly elect 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body are allocated through a system of proportional representation, in which political parties are awarded seats based on their percentage of votes. On Sunday, the RSP was also leading with around 51% of the 110 seats.
The relatively new RSP has ousted the two long-dominant parties: the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), which have alternated in power.
Local newspapers called the landslide victory a historic moment. The Himalayan Times, a popular daily, noted: “RSP is heading for a landslide victory.” Annapurna Post wrote: “Rebellion at the polls of the people; change of political paradigm.”
RSP supporters have been celebrating the victory in various constituencies, offering the winners garlands of flowers, bouquets, scarves and smearing vermilion red powder on them.
Party leaders, however, have asked their candidates and supporters to refrain from holding victory parades or any other public celebrations, as a sign of respect for the dozens of lives lost during last year’s youth protests.
In Nepal, voters receive two ballots: one to choose the candidate of their choice, who is usually a nominee of a political party, and another to choose the party they prefer.
The RSP clearly has more than half of the directly elected seats and the results of the second ballot also show that the party has more than 50% of the votes in its favor. To form a government, they need the support of half of the total members of the lower house of Parliament.
Last year’s protests against corruption and mismanagement were sparked by a social media ban, before turning into a popular revolt against the government. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured when protesters attacked government buildings and police opened fire on them.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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