A NEPALESE political party led by an ex-rapper looked set for a landslide victory today in the country’s first parliamentary election since recent Gen Z protests.

The Rastriya Swatantra (RSP), formed only four years ago, had already won 103 of 165 directly elected seats and led in 21 other constituencies in the results published this morning by Nepal’s Election Commission.

Other political parties and independent candidates had won 27 seats at time of print. Officials were still counting the votes today and final results were expected later in the week.

The party’s prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who won the 2022 Kathmandu mayoral race. He emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli.

In Nepal, voters directly elect 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body are allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties are assigned seats based on their share of the vote. 

On Sunday, RSP also led with about 51 per cent of the 110 seats.

In Nepal, voters get two ballot papers, one to choose a candidate of their choice who is usually a political party nominee and the other to choose a party they prefer.