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JHAPA: Nepal&#39;s election campaign entered its final day on Monday, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government, with rival leaders making a last push in a tightly contested race. The Himalayan republic will elect a new parliament on Thursday, replacing the interim government that has led the country of 30 million people since the September 2025 uprising in which at least 77 people were killed. Sushila Karki, who is serving as interim prime minister until the March 5 vote, has said the election will &quot;draw the future of the country&quot;. Two weeks of campaigning have showcased a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal&#39;s woeful economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for two decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security. Among the key figures is KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year. He faces a high-profile challenge in his home constituency from former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician widely known as Balen. Their constituency of Jhapa-5 -- a mix of towns and farming settlements in Nepal&#39;s eastern plains, with the world&#39;s highest peaks on the horizon -- has emerged as a crucial battleground. A local defeat for either man would likely end his bid to become prime minister. &#39;Old age&#39; club&nbsp;&quot;We have had a difficult few years with old leadership, and we need new energy,&quot; said 50-year-old bus driver Pawan Jha told AFP, who attended Shah&#39;s rally in Jhapa. &quot;The protests were important to bring about change.&quot; Shah, dressed in a sharp-cut black suit and sunglasses, waving from a car he was driving himself through the farmlands of Jhapa, arrived at his rally to cheers, whistles, and thumping music. Oli, speaking to AFP, blamed &quot;anarchic forces&quot; for the violence that led to his removal and denied ordering security forces to kill protesters during the unrest. Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change. &quot;Gen Z&#39;s number one demand is good governance, because there is a high level of corruption in the country,&quot; Shah told AFP. But he is not the only one wooing the youth vote. Aspiring prime minister Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the country&#39;s oldest party, Nepali Congress, told AFP he wanted to end the &quot;old age&quot; club of revolving veteran leaders. Thapa, a former health minister who took charge in January, said he offers voters the &quot;right mix of energy and experience&quot;. The last day of campaigning coincides with Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, with some candidates combining celebrations with their rallies. &#39;Without any fear&#39;&nbsp;Nearly 19 million registered voters will elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament -- 165 directly, with a further 110 chosen via a party-list proportional representation. Analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver an outright majority for any single party. More than 3,400 candidates are competing in the direct vote, 30 percent aged under 40. The youth-led protests in September were triggered by a brief social media ban, but were fuelled by anger at economic stagnation and an ageing elite seen as out of touch. The World Bank estimates 82 percent of Nepal&#39;s workforce is in informal employment, with GDP per capita at $1,447 in 2024. Millions are forced to seek work abroad -- and their remittances make up the equivalent of around a third of Nepal&#39;s GDP. &quot;Unemployment is a big issue that needs to be resolved,&quot; &nbsp;said shopkeeper Mamata Devi Goswami, 49, who said she would vote for change. &quot;The youth should work here and earn their living, rather than go out of the country.&quot; Over two days in September, 77 people were killed, scores were injured, hundreds of buildings set on fire -- including parliament, courts, and a Hilton hotel. It was the country&#39;s worst violence in a decade since the civil war ended in 2006. Karki, a former chief justice, has said her government &quot;will leave no stone unturned to conduct the election in a clean, fair, fearless, and peaceful manner&quot; and has urged &quot;all citizens to exercise their voting rights with confidence and without any fear.&quot;

 Supporters waving flags attend a campaign rally of Nepali Congress party president and election candidate Gagan Thapa in Kathmandu on March 1, 2026 ahead of parliamentary elections in Nepal. (Photo by Prabin RANABHAT / AFP)

Nepal

Heading to parliamentary elections after deadly anti-corruption protests, veteran leader KP Sharma Oli is facing a strong youth challenge from Balendra Shah, as economic frustration and demands for political renewal shape a closely fought contest.

Nepal rivals rally on final day of election campaign

TOKYO: Japanese Premier Sanae Takaichi said Monday that the public saw an &quot;urgent need&quot; for major reform after a historic election landslide, pledging to boost the country&#39;s defences in order to protect its territory. Sunday&#39;s snap vote saw Takaichi&#39;s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) win a two-thirds majority in the lower house for the first time in its history, capitalizing on her strong popularity since taking office in October. The outcome allows Japan&#39;s first woman prime minister to stamp her mark on the country of 123 million people over the next four years, having pledged to boost the economy and get tough on immigration. &quot;This is the start of a heavy, heavy responsibility to make Japan stronger, more prosperous,&quot; Takaichi, 64, told a news conference on Monday. &quot;We believe that the public has shown understanding and sympathy regarding our appeals concerning the urgent need for a major policy shift,&quot; she said. The admirer of &quot;Iron Lady&quot; Margaret Thatcher also said she would bolster Japan&#39;s defences, including by creating a new intelligence bureau and revising key security policy documents. &quot;No one will come to the aid of a nation that lacks the resolve to defend itself with its own hands,&quot; Takaichi said. &quot;We will steadfastly protect our nation&#39;s peace and independence, our territory, territorial waters, airspace, and the lives and safety of our citizens,&quot; she added. Such comments are likely to go down badly in China, especially after Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to seize Taiwan by force. China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it, was furious. On Monday, a spokesman for China&#39;s foreign ministry again urged Japan to retract the comments. Beijing warned Tokyo that &quot;reckless&quot; actions would be met with a &quot;resolute response from the international community.&quot; &quot;Our nation is open to various dialogues with China. We already have exchanges of views. We will continue the exchanges of views. But we will deal with them in calm and appropriate ways,&quot; Takaichi said. HoneymoonCapitalizing on her honeymoon start after becoming Japan&#39;s fifth premier in as many years in October, Takaichi called the snap election last month. The gamble paid off, with the LDP winning around 316 of the 465 seats contested, according to Japanese media. That takes the party past the 310-seat threshold needed for a two-thirds majority for the first time in its history and may prompt the government to try and make changes to the country&#39;s constitution. US President Donald Trump -- who is due to host Takaichi in Washington next month -- congratulated her after an earlier endorsement. &quot;I wish you Great Success in passing your Conservative, Peace Through Strength Agenda,&quot; Trump wrote on Truth Social. Takaichi said that the talks on March 19 will &quot;reaffirm the unshakeable unity between Japan and the United States&quot;. DrummerA heavy metal drummer in her youth, Takaichi was on the ultra-conservative fringe of the LDP when she became party chief. Despite being her country&#39;s first woman premier, Takaichi has shown little appetite for framing her leadership around gender in male-dominated Japanese politics. She has been a hit with voters, especially young ones, with fans lapping up everything from her handbag to her jamming to a K-pop song with South Korea&#39;s president. But she will have to deliver on the economy to remain popular. &quot;With prices rising like this, what matters most to me is what policies they&#39;ll adopt to deal with inflation,&quot; voter Chika Sakamoto, 50, told AFP on Sunday. But helping households could make markets jittery about Japan&#39;s colossal debts, which are more than twice the size of the economy. This was shown by yields on long-dated Japanese bonds hitting record highs during the election campaign after Takaichi floated the idea of suspending the food tax. Tokyo&#39;s Nikkei index of stocks jumped more than 5% early Monday and closed 3.9% higher. Takaichi reiterated on Sunday her mantra of having a &quot;responsible&quot; fiscal policy but added that she wanted &quot;to build a strong and resilient economy.&quot; &quot;In reality, the policies of a Takaichi administration are unlikely to curb the inflation that voters expect her to address,&quot; said Tetsuo Kotani at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. &quot;An income tax hike linked to increased defense spending will also be unavoidable. If these policies lead to a triple decline in stocks, the yen, and government bonds, people&#39;s lives will become even more difficult,&quot; Kotani told AFP. Pakistan PM facilitates TakaichiPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday congratulated Sanae Takaichi on her re-election as Japan&#39;s prime minister.&nbsp; &quot;We look forward to continue working with Prime Minister Takaichi to further strengthen and diversify our excellent bilateral relations with Japan,&quot; the prime minister wrote on his official X handle. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 344px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2020754408943058966&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=bc1cdc1101a45a76f68e837f9c3424005a377066&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2020754408943058966"></iframe></div></div>

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), speaks during a press conference at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on February 9, 2026.

Asia

The outcome allows Japan's first woman prime minister to stamp her mark on the country of 123 million people over the next four years, having pledged to boost the economy and get tough on immigration.

Japan PM Takaichi basks in historic election triumph

PRAGUE: Billionaire Andrej Babi&scaron; became another populist leader in Central Europe to stage a political comeback by winning big in the Czech Republic&rsquo;s parliamentary election, according to nearly complete results Saturday. That result could steer the country away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path. With the results of 99.5% of the polling stations counted by the Statistics Office, Babi&scaron;&rsquo; ANO (YES) movement captured 34.7% of the vote, soundly beating the Together conservative coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, which received 23.2%. Babi&scaron; was jubilant after his best electoral result, calling it &ldquo;historic&rdquo; for himself and his &ldquo;catch-all&rdquo; political group, as it had stormed into national politics in 2013. &ldquo;We want the Czech Republic to become the best place for life in the European Union, and we will do everything to make it happen,&rdquo; he told his supporters and media. With the victory, Babi&scaron; would join the ranks of Prime Ministers Viktor Orb&aacute;n of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, continue to import Russian oil, and oppose European Union sanctions on Russia. The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia&rsquo;s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country has donated arms, including heavy weapons, to the Ukrainian armed forces and is behind an initiative that acquires artillery shells Ukraine badly needs from countries outside the EU. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t like it,&rdquo; Babi&scaron; said about that internationally recognized initiative. &ldquo;We have a different view of it,&rdquo; he said. The opposition, led by Babi&scaron;, blamed Fiala for all the troubles of recent years, from the energy crisis to soaring inflation, and pledged to revoke his pension reform and assistance to Ukraine. Fiala congratulated him, saying the result was clear and &ldquo;it&rsquo;s necessary to accept it.&rdquo; His campaign focused on security amid the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A group of mayors, known as STAN, also a member of Fiala&rsquo;s government, garnered 11.1% of the vote, with another ally of Fiala, the Pirate Party, securing 8.7%. The major anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, got 7.9%, while a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists collected 6.8%. Babi&scaron; said he aimed to form a one-party government, and he will have to seek tolerance from the two groups. The two-day election filled 200 seats in the lower house of the Czech parliament. Babi&scaron; won 80 seats, the Freedom Party has 15, and the Motorists have 13. The Together coalition won 52. He joined forces with his friend Orb&aacute;n last year to create a new alliance in the European Parliament, the &ldquo;Patriots for Europe,&rdquo; which represents hard-right groups, a significant shift from the liberal Renew group to which Babi&scaron; previously belonged. The Patriots are united by anti-migrant rhetoric, a critical stance toward EU policies addressing climate change, and a commitment to protecting national sovereignty. The Motorists, who former EU-skeptic President V&aacute;clav Klaus backs, share those views, while the Freedom party wants to lead the country out of the EU and NATO and plans to expel almost all of the approximately 380,000 Ukrainian refugees from the country. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,&rdquo; Babi&scaron; still declared after the victory. President Petr Pavel is scheduled to meet with Babi&scaron; and other party leaders on Sunday. The head of the strongest political force usually gets a chance from the president to form a new government. If he wants to govern alone, his minority Cabinet would need at least tacit support from the Freedom Party and the Motorists to win a mandatory parliamentary confidence vote to rule. The result was a fiasco for a coalition of four far-left fringe parties led by the maverick Communists, who are openly pro-Russian and failed to win a seat.

Czech Republic's Prime Minister and leader of coalition of three conservative parties called "Together" Petr Fiala addresses the media during the parliamentary elections in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Europe

Becomes another populist leader in Central Europe to stage a political comeback by winning, and vows to make the Czech Republic the best place for life in the European Union.

Articles tagged with "election"

Nepal rivals rally on final day of election campaign

Japan PM Takaichi basks in historic election triumph

Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš wins Czech parliamentary election