Nepal: Youth wave reshapes vote as Balen Shah’s party surges in early results

Early vote counts from Nepal show the Rastriya Swotantra Party performing well in the country’s highly contested general election, held months after the country witnessed a major shift in the political arena due to mass protests led by the youth.

The Rastriya Swotantra Party is leading in 23 constituencies, while the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) are leading in three constituencies each, based on the preliminary results of the vote counts, which commenced late Thursday night, the Election Commission of Nepal announced. The vote counting is expected to conclude tonight.

The early trends also show Balendra Shah, also known as Balen Shah, leading former Nepalese Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli by close to 1,100 votes in the Jhapa-5 constituency.

Of the total 165 seats decided through direct voting, the party to which Balendra Shah belongs is leading in 52 seats. The Nepali Congress, whose candidate is Gagan Thapa, is leading in five seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) is leading in four seats, of which Oli is the the party president.

Oli, speaking after the vote, said the election had a major responsibility to rebuild political stability and democratic order after months of upheaval. He said he was confident that his party would gain a strong mandate, helping to calm the population that normal life could return.

Thursday’s vote, with an estimated 60 percent turnout, was Nepal’s first nationwide election since last year’s unrest led to the fall of Oli’s coalition government. The protests, led by young voters, began in September 2025 after the government banned social media for a brief period. However, the protests quickly turned into an uprising against the government’s corruption and economic mismanagement.

The protests turned violent, resulting in the death of at least 77 people, with several government buildings, including parts of parliament, being set on fire. However, the government’s response to the protests, including the police firing at protesters, led to Oli’s resignation.

Since then, the country has been under an interim administration headed by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki.

The election is perceived as a face-off between Nepal’s veteran political leadership and the new youth revolution demanding radical change in the country’s politics. Shah, who is aged 35, is being perceived as a symbol of the new revolution, with widespread popularity among the youth and presenting himself as a challenger to the veteran politicians of Nepal.

The results of the elections may take some time to come, with some of the results being announced as early as Friday.