Nepal’s future in the hands of a rapper

2026-03-08 - 17:18

The RSP party, led by prime ministerial candidate 35-year-old former rapper Balendra Shah, secured a decisive victory in Nepal’s general election held yesterday (8). Shah is also the former independent Mayor of Kathmandu. In the general election, the RSP party won 91 of the 117 seats in Nepal’s Parliament. During the election, Shah contested from the same electoral district as K. P. Sharma Oli, who has served as Prime Minister four times. Shah defeated Oli by a margin of 50,000 votes. Oli received 18,734 votes, while Shah secured 68,368 votes. Accordingly, the 35-year-old former rapper Balendra Shah is expected to become Nepal’s next Prime Minister. Election results were announced at around 5.30 a.m., and a notable outcome was the RSP party’s victory in 10 electoral divisions in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress Party won 13 seats. Nepal’s previous government collapsed last September following protests led by the country’s youth. The general election was held on the 5th of this month in order to appoint a new government.