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Nepal’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) secured a sweeping victory in the country’s latest parliamentary elections, marking the biggest win for a single party in decades and reshaping the country’s political landscape following last year’s deadly protests.

About 60 percent of the country’s nearly 19 million eligible voters took part in the election. The results put Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician who rose to prominence as mayor of Kathmandu, on track to become Nepal’s next leader.

With 182 seats in parliament’s lower house, the RSP fell just two seats short of the two-thirds supermajority required to dominate the chamber outright. Despite that, the result places the party firmly in control of the next government and signals a dramatic shift in public support toward newer political forces.

The election is the first national vote since youth-led demonstrations last year forced the collapse of the previous government.

The scale of the RSP’s win is particularly striking given how recently the party was formed. Founded in 2022, the party placed fourth in the election held that same year and was widely seen as a newcomer challenging Nepal’s long-established political group.

In the latest vote, however, it surged past its rivals. The Nepali Congress finished a distant second with 38 seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal-UML (CPN-UML) secured 25 seats.

Although the RSP has secured a clear majority, it is expected to take at least a week before a new government is formally formed.

Balendra Shah’s Political Rise

Shah’s political career has moved quickly. Before entering national politics, his only major political role was serving as mayor of the capital city.

His rise has mirrored the rapid growth of the RSP itself. Both Shah and the party have built their appeal largely on promises of reform and a break from traditional political elites.

During the election campaign, Shah presented himself as part of a new generation of leaders determined to tackle corruption, economic stagnation, and social inequality.

For many voters, particularly younger Nepalis, this message proved highly attractive. The election results suggest that the party successfully turned that momentum into nationwide support.

Nepal’s electoral system makes such a landslide difficult to achieve. The country uses a mixed political model that combines first-past-the-post constituency races with proportional representation. The structure is designed to distribute power among multiple parties and prevent a single group from dominating parliament.

Despite these structural barriers, the RSP managed to secure 182 seats, bringing it within two seats of the supermajority threshold.

Analysts say the scale of the victory reflects the depth of public frustration with traditional political parties.

Youth Vote Drives Change

The election campaign was heavily shaped by the concerns of younger voters, who have become an increasingly influential political bloc in Nepal.

Political parties across the spectrum attempted to win their support by focusing on issues such as unemployment, economic stagnation, and inequality.

For many young voters, however, the RSP appeared to offer the clearest promise of political renewal.

The demand for change had already become visible during last year’s protests, which were largely driven by youth activists.

Those demonstrations began over a social media ban but quickly expanded into a wider movement challenging Nepal’s political system and what protesters described as entrenched privilege among political elites.

Many protesters used the term “nepo babies” to criticize the children of powerful politicians who were seen as benefiting from family connections and political patronage.

The protests eventually became one of the most significant political crises Nepal had faced in years. Demonstrations spread across major cities and were met with a heavy response from security forces. In total, 77 people were killed during the unrest.

मैले त मेरो मत अधिकार प्रयोग गरे ।
अनि तपाइँले नि ? pic.twitter.com/JcUr2qbjXM

— Balen Shah (@ShahBalen) March 5, 2026

A subsequent investigation revealed that Nepal’s police chief had issued an order allowing the use of lethal force against thousands of unarmed protesters.

The crisis ultimately forced the resignation of the government led by KP Sharma Oli.

Although Oli later returned to contest the election again as a candidate for prime minister, the vote delivered a major setback to his political career.

Major Defeats for Established Leaders

Oli’s party, the CPN-UML, finished third overall in the election. The former prime minister also suffered a personal defeat in the Jhapa-5 constituency, an area that had long been considered a stronghold for the 74-year-old politician.

He lost decisively to Balendra Shah. Another prominent figure to lose his seat was Gagan Thapa, the leader of the Nepali Congress and one of the most recognizable faces in the country’s traditional political establishment.

Thapa was defeated by an RSP candidate, highlighting the extent to which voters shifted their support toward the emerging party.

The election results appear to mark a turning point in Nepal’s political system. For decades, the country’s politics have largely been dominated by a small group of established parties. The RSP’s overwhelming victory suggests that many voters are now willing to support newer movements that promise reform. Whether the party can translate its electoral success into effective governance remains an open question.

With a large parliamentary majority but limited governing experience, the new leadership will face pressure to deliver on the promises that fueled its rapid rise. At the same time, the expectations of young voters who drove much of the political change remain high.

As the country prepares for the formation of a new government, the election has already signaled one clear message: a large portion of Nepal’s population is demanding a different direction for the country’s future.