The snap election for Nepal’s House of Representatives held on 5 March 2026 has brought about a political upheaval: according to the counting of votes until Sunday, 8th March, the new progressive anti-corruption party Rashtriya Swatantra Party (roughly “National Freedom Party”) has achieved a landslide victory. So far it has won 119 of the total 275 seats, and it can also expect to secure the majority of the remaining 110 seats allocated through proportional representation that have not yet been counted. This would give the anti-establishment party an absolute majority under its charismatic leader Balendra Shah, who served as mayor of Kathmandu since threee years until January 2026.
Voter turnout was low at 58%, as many loyal supporters of the long-established parties stayed home out of disappointment with the incompetent government. The parliament of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is elected through a mixed electoral system. 165 members of parliament are chosen in single-member constituencies by relative majority (the first-past-the-post principle as used in the United Kingdom), while the remaining 110 seats are allocated through nationwide proportional representation with a 3% electoral threshold.
The snap elections had been called after militant protests in September 2025 brought down the government of UML leader Prasad Oli. For several days of violent unrest, the youth—Generation Z—demonstrated against the government of the established parties. The background was not only corruption but also deep social inequality, the systematic privileging of the upper castes within the state apparatus, economic mismanagement and cronyism, as well as intense party-political conflict.
With the victory of the RSP and a future prime minister Balendra Shah, a new political era is opening for Nepal—yet it will also be a crucial political test for Nepal’s younger generation.

Some other news

Background: Nepals-gen-z-erhebt-sich

The Kathmandu Post: Rastriya Swatantra Party surges towards landslide victory

Wikipedia: Wahl zum Representantenhaus in Nepal 2026

Foto: Dipen Shresta, Kathmandu Post