Former rapper inches closer to become Nepal's new PM

Nepal's centrist party of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah looked set to win by a landslide in parliamentary polls, according to Election Commission trends on Saturday, but with counting still far to go.

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The high-stakes parliamentary election on Thursday came six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government, with at least 77 people killed.

The September 2025 youth-led demonstrations, under a loose Gen Z banner, began over a brief social media ban but quickly tapped into broader grievances over corruption and a struggling economy.

According to early trends issued by the Election Commission on Saturday, 35-year-old Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on track to win a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament.

"Looking at the trend, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has taken the lead in many places and has won several seats," commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told reporters.

If the trends are confirmed by the vote count, 35-year-old Shah's victory over a veteran Marxist leader - and his rise from city mayor to potential prime minister - would mark one of the most dramatic results in recent Nepali politics.