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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&#39;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday congratulated Rabi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party following their victory in the 2026 elections in Nepal.&nbsp;In a message shared on the social media platform X, the premier praised the electoral outcome and described it as a strong sign of public confidence in the country&rsquo;s emerging leadership.&nbsp;&ldquo;My heartiest congratulations to Rabi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party on their remarkable victory in the 2026 elections in Nepal,&rdquo; Sharif said.<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" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; 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=2031659899013488916&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=d68f16a36bb6770eb78bf5163230641a750a12b7&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Sharif also highlighted the importance of ties between the two countries, saying Pakistan is eager to work with Nepal&rsquo;s incoming leadership to deepen bilateral relations.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan looks forward to working closely with the newly elected Government of Nepal to further strengthen our historic friendship and cooperation,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Historic election winShah&rsquo;s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) appears set to form the next government in Nepal after securing a commanding lead in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/rapperturnedpolitician-looks-set-for-landslide-nepal-election-win" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">parliamentary elections</a>, with only around two percent of votes left to be counted.&nbsp;According to preliminary results, the party has already secured a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives, marking one of the most dramatic political shifts in recent Nepali politics.&nbsp;The 35-year-old Shah, a rapper-turned-politician who previously served as mayor of Kathmandu, is now widely expected to become Nepal&rsquo;s next prime minister. His rise caps a bold political gamble and follows a wave of support among younger voters.&nbsp;The March 5 parliamentary vote was the first national election since deadly youth-led anti-corruption protests toppled the government in September last year.&nbsp;In a major upset, Shah defeated veteran four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency. Oli&rsquo;s Marxist-led government had been ousted amid the unrest that swept the country in 2025.

Foreign Affairs

The premier praises the electoral outcome, describing it as a strong sign of public confidence in the country’s emerging leadership.

Pakistan PM congratulates Nepal’s new leadership after election victory

JHAPA: Nepal&#39;s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah grinned and flashed a V-for-victory sign on Saturday as Election Commission officials confirmed he had beaten veteran leader KP Sharma Oli in their parliamentary constituency. The 35-year-old&#39;s party is also seemingly headed for a landslide victory nationally. His win over the 74-year-old Marxist leader, and his rise from the capital&#39;s mayor to potential prime minister, is one of the most dramatic results in recent Nepali politics. The first-time parliamentary lawmaker toured the streets of his new constituency on Saturday evening, wearing his signature dark sunglasses and waving from the sunroof of a car in a victory parade through cheering crowds who chanted &quot;Balen&quot;, as he is better known. Shah, who did not make a speech, won more than three times the votes than four-time prime minister. The high-stakes election on Thursday came six months after deadly protests toppled the government led by Oli, 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. Oli congratulated Balen on social media platform X later on Saturday, conceding defeat. &quot;Congratulations! Wish you a smooth and successful five-year tenure,&quot; Oli said. Nationwide, Shah&#39;s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on track to win a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, according to early trends issued by the Election Commission, although counting still has far to go. &quot;This is heading to a landslide victory -- this reflects the frustration that has been building up,&quot; said political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta. &quot;It is actually the people&#39;s revolt against the established political parties,&quot; he said. &quot;The people understand that the new do not really have strong agendas, but it is a punishment to the parties for their decades-long poor governance.&quot; &nbsp;&#39;A day will come&#39;Shah leveraged his music fame and strong social media following to become Kathmandu&#39;s first independent mayor in 2022. Rojan Bhattarai, 22, a student in Jhapa, said Shah was &quot;a performer&quot;. &quot;I was 99.99 percent sure he would win, but the majority is shocking. That shows how much the people were upset with the previous government,&quot; Bhattarai told AFP. &quot;He has inspired us all.&quot; There were 76 declared results by Saturday evening. RSP took 61, Nepali Congress won nine, and Oli&#39;s Marxist party was trailing with three. Former Maoist guerrilla commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal&#39;s party has one. Trends showed Shah&#39;s RSP was also leading in 61 of the remaining 89 constituencies in the direct elections. It had secured comfortably more than half of the ballots counted so far in the proportional representation vote, which determines a further 110 seats through party lists. Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said RSP has &quot;taken the lead in many places&quot;, but that full results were still days away. &quot;According to our plan, it will take at least a week to <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepal-counts-votes-after-key-postuprising-election" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">count the proportional votes</a>, after which the election will go through the official process,&quot; he said. He said the count was &quot;going smoothly&quot; across the Himalayan nation, from snowbound mountain regions to the hot plains bordering India. Nepali Congress, the largest party in the past coalition government, also saw its new leader, Gagan Thapa, trailing in his constituency. &quot;This is even a bigger upset than we expected; it underscores the level of public disenchantment with the old parties for under-performance, as well as anger over the events of September,&quot; said Kunda Dixit, publisher of the weekly Nepali Times. The <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepals-gen-z-pins-hopes-on-postuprising-elections" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">burnt-out ruins of Oli&#39;s home in Jhapa</a>, torched during the unrest, like hundreds of other buildings, including parliament, served as a reminder of last year&#39;s deadly violence. Dharmakala Gautam, 74, who watched the house burn, said she was tired of promises that never materialised. &quot;When the Maoists came to rule, we hoped for change, but not much happened,&quot; she said. &quot;I will keep some hope this time too.&quot;

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) election candidate Balendra Shah (C) shows a victory sign after collecting a certificate following his win in parliamentary elections at the counting centre in Damak in Nepal's Jhapa district on March 7, 2026.

Nepal

His win over the 74-year-old Marxist leader, and his rise from the capital's mayor to potential prime minister, is one of the most dramatic results in recent Nepali politics.

Rapper-turned-politician Shah unseats former Nepal PM in own constituency

KATHMANDU: Nepal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepal-votes-in-key-postuprising-polls" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">voted</a>&nbsp;on Thursday for a new parliament in a high-stakes showdown between an entrenched old guard and a powerful youth movement, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepals-gen-z-pins-hopes-on-postuprising-elections" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">toppled the government</a>. Key figures contesting for power include the Marxist former prime minister seeking a return to office, a rapper-turned-mayor bidding for the youth vote, and the newly elected leader of the powerful Nepali Congress party. Election commission officials began collecting ballot boxes after voting closed, with papers to be taken under guard to a center in each constituency, before counting starts. Some winners are expected to be published as early as Friday, but full results may take several days. &quot;Nepalis have been waiting for change for so long, from one system to another,&quot; said Nilanta Shakya, 60, a retired engineer, who was among the first to vote at a college in the capital, Kathmandu. &quot;I hope there is a meaningful change this time,&quot; she added. Voters have chosen who replaces the interim government in place since the September 2025 uprising, in which at least 77 people were killed, and parliament and scores of government buildings were torched. Youth-led protests under a loose Gen Z banner began as a demonstration against a brief social media ban, but were fed by wider grievances at corruption and a woeful economy. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepals-exchief-justice-sushila-karki-becomes-interim-premier-after-protests" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sushila Karki</a>, the interim prime minister, said the vote was critical in &quot;determining our future&quot;. The polls are one of the most hotly contested elections in the Himalayan republic of 30 million people since the end of a civil war in 2006. Thousands of soldiers and police have been deployed. The election saw a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal&#39;s dismal economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security. &quot;Today feels like a day of celebration,&quot; said Nirmala Bhandari, 50, a housewife, who danced in the street with friends for a video for social media, after casting her vote in Bhaktapur district outside the capital. &quot;I am hopeful that the country will get new leaders and that we will build a better nation.&quot; &#39;Blood will bring change&#39; Helicopters will be used to collect ballot boxes from snowbound mountain regions across Nepal, home to eight of the world&#39;s 10 highest peaks, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/hundreds-of-hikers-rescued-from-everest-after-severe-snowstorm" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mount Everest.</a> But all eyes will be focused on the hot farming plains south of Kathmandu, where all three prime ministerial hopefuls contested seats &ndash; a departure from past elections that focused on the capital. KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year and seeking a return to power, is being challenged in the usually sleepy eastern district of Jhapa by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician. &quot;This election must reestablish democracy and contribute to end non-political, anarchic and violent tendencies,&quot; Oli said after voting, insisting his party would win the largest number of seats. The Jhapa-5 constituency, with around 163,000 voters, will determine whether Oli secures his seat or whether Shah enters parliament. Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who queued to vote in Kathmandu dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change. Also in the race as aspiring prime minister is Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the country&#39;s oldest party, Nepali Congress, who has said he wants to end the &quot;old age&quot; club of revolving veteran leaders. After casting his ballot, Thapa told AFP that it is &quot;the duty of the leaders&quot; not to let the events of last September occur again. On social media, voters shared images of their ink-marked thumbs &ndash; alongside photographs of the September protests. &quot;At the Gen Z protest, people died &ndash; and their blood will bring change, we hope,&quot; said Tek Bahadur Aale, 66, who voted in Jhapa. &quot;We hope a government with good governance, no corruption, comes this time.&quot; More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 seats in direct elections to the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, with 110 more chosen via party lists. Analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver an outright majority for any party.

Security personnel and electoral officials carry ballot boxes to the counting centre after voting ends at a polling station during Nepal's general election in Lalitpur on March 5, 2026. (AFP)

Key figures contesting for power include the Marxist former prime minister seeking a return to office, a rapper-turned-mayor bidding for the youth vote, and the newly elected leader of the powerful Nepali Congress party.

Nepal awaits results in key post-uprising polls

KATHMANDU: Six months after joining anti-corruption protests that rocked Nepal, 23-year-old Amrita Ban will vote in Thursday&#39;s election, hoping the new government will realise the movement&#39;s demands. Last September&#39;s violence, in which at least 77 people were killed, parliament set on fire and the government ousted, still shadows her today. &quot;It took months to sleep properly again,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;As soon as I closed my eyes, I would hear gunshots, like it was happening right now.&quot; The demonstrations were initially sparked by anger over a brief government ban on social media but were driven by deeper frustration over economic hardship, corruption and entrenched political practices. At least 19 people were killed in a security crackdown on the first day of protests, before the unrest spread across the country. &quot;The candidates I support are those whom I believe will carry forward the spirit of our movement,&quot; said Ban, who worked to encourage young people to vote. Nearly 19 million people have registered to vote in the parliamentary polls, including about 800,000 for the first time. &#39;Political awakening&#39; Young Nepalis largely led the protests, rallying under the loose banner of Gen Z. They do not have a party of their own, but exert pressure and wield significant influence, especially online. &quot;We are not in the election race, but we will still be active in raising our voices from outside, the streets are with us,&quot; said Yujan Rajbhandari, aged 24. &quot;The movement still continues.&quot; Former protesters have backed a surge of new candidates calling for change, and invoking the Gen Z movement. &quot;They cannot forget us if they win,&quot; 22-year-old Astha Basnet told AFP. &quot;There has been a political awakening among younger people,&quot; she added, saying people were &quot;very curious&quot; about the parties, policies and candidates. &quot;There is an excitement &ndash; and also a sense of responsibility &ndash;among the voters of our generation.&quot; Still, some activists warn against equating popularity with competence, or ignoring experience simply because someone is new. &quot;There is a danger to our democracy if we choose populism over capability,&quot; said Riyab Baniya, aged 21. &quot;Right now, those whose voices are louder are getting popular, but we have to be critical &ndash; we have to support people who will take our mandate forward.&quot; &#39;Tired of old leaders&#39; Many who drove the movement remain outside mainstream politics &ndash; raising concerns about whether their demands will be fully represented. &quot;We raised our voices against bad governance and corruption,&quot; said Janak Pokharel, 28. &quot;But the parties and leaders need to have a roadmap on how to address these issues and older existing problems.&quot; More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 seats in direct elections to the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, with 110 more chosen via party lists. Nearly a third of them are under the age of 40, some of whom came to prominence through the protests. &quot;We are not looking just for new faces, we need a change in the culture &ndash; society was tired of the old leaders,&quot; Ban added. &quot;It is a testing period for forces of alternative politics.&quot;

Young Nepalis, leaders of deadly anti-corruption protests that ousted the government, rally first-time voters for Thursday's election, backing new candidates to combat graft and economic woes.

Nepal's Gen Z pins hopes on post-uprising elections

JHAPA: Nepali candidates launched campaigning on Monday for next month&#39;s parliamentary elections, the first since deadly anti-corruption&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gen-z-protests-digital-platforms-fuel-change-from-asia-to-africa" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">protests</a>&nbsp;toppled the previous government in 2025. In the key battleground of Jhapa-5 &mdash; a constituency in Nepal&#39;s eastern plains with the world&#39;s highest peaks on the horizon &mdash; a head-to-head political fight dominating the campaign was already heating up. The ousted former prime minister&#39;s bid to return to power &mdash;&nbsp;73-year-old Marxist leader KP&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nepals-exchief-justice-sushila-karki-becomes-interim-premier-after-protests" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sharma Oli</a>&nbsp;&mdash; is being challenged on his home turf by a rapper-turned-mayor casting himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change, 35-year-old Balendra Shah. Both Oli and Shah kicked off campaigning in Jhapa on Monday, wooing voters to their cause. &quot;KP Oli is a need of this nation,&quot; 66-year-old Jhapa resident Hima Karki told AFP, one of 163,000 voters in the constituency, a mix of towns and farming settlements. &quot;He is the savior of the nation, and his victory from here is certain.&quot; Others were more doubtful of Oli&#39;s return to power. &quot;Only the youth can bring change,&quot; said Chhabi Khatiwoda, 33, a Jhapa resident who has switched his support from Oli to Shah, who has joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the fourth biggest in the last parliament. &quot;It is high time we all became politically aware and work for new Nepal.&quot; The youth-led protests in September were triggered by a brief&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/meta-urges-australia-to-change-teen-social-media-ban" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">social media ban</a>, but were fueled by anger at economic stagnation and an ageing elite seen as out of touch. Over two days in September, 77 people were killed, scores were injured, hundreds of buildings set on fire &mdash; including parliament, courts and a Hilton hotel &mdash; and Oli was ousted. It was the Himalayan nation&#39;s worst violence since a decade-long civil war ended in 2006. &quot;This election will draw the future of the country,&quot; Sushila Karki, who is serving as interim prime minister until the March 5 vote, said ahead of the start of campaigning. Young and old Two weeks of campaigns will see a host of new, younger candidates promise to offer change, challenging veteran politicians who say they provide stability and security. &quot;Today is the first day,&quot; Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane told AFP, but said that the active participation of parties was &quot;a good signal of a positive environment for the election&quot;. Shah, who first gained national attention through Nepal&#39;s underground hip-hop scene, releasing songs that railed against corruption and inequality, cultivated a devoted following on social media.&nbsp;But Oli-loyalist Hima Karki said the election battle would not be won online. &quot;Others may win on social media but we will win in the real election,&quot; he said. Also in the race is Nepali Congress, the country&rsquo;s oldest party. It was once part of Oli&#39;s coalition government, but has elected a new leader since the uprising &mdash;&nbsp;49 year old Gagan Thapa. And, at the other end of the spectrum from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/angry-with-governments-the-worlds-young-fill-streets-as-gen-z-protest" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gen Z politics</a>, supporters of the ex king Gyanendra Shah, 78 &mdash; deposed in 2008, ending 240 years of monarchy &mdash; will also campaign. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which draws support from royalist nostalgia and frustration with mainstream politics, rallied thousands in Kathmandu on Friday as the ex-king drove through the streets waving from his car. &#39;Way out&#39; Nearly 19 million people have registered to vote, including 800,000 taking part for the first time. They will elect members to the 275-seat House of Representatives, the lower house, with 165 via a direct vote and 110 through proportional representation. More than 3,400 candidates are competing in the direct vote, 30%&nbsp;aged under 40. Campaign banners and party flags are already being strung up in towns, with a string of rallies planned as candidates seek to woo voters. &quot;This election is being conducted in a special condition,&quot; former chief justice Karki said, as she oversaw polling preparations last week. &quot;This has to give the country a way out.&quot; The Election Commission has said it is ready to hold the polls as planned despite concerns over weather conditions, as many high-altitude areas may be snowbound that early in the year. The vote is being held unusually early in the year, due to an accelerated election schedule brought on by the September unrest. Extra security forces have been drafted to ensure calm, with around 300,000 officers and temporary election police deployed.

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (2L), Nepal's former prime minister and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) leader, greets supporters during a door-to-door election campaign rally in Damak, Jhapa district on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

Articles tagged with "nepal general election"

Pakistan PM congratulates Nepal’s new leadership after election victory

Rapper-turned-politician Shah unseats former Nepal PM in own constituency

Nepal awaits results in key post-uprising polls

Nepal's Gen Z pins hopes on post-uprising elections

Nepal launches campaigns for first post-uprising polls

Nepal's Gen Z pins hopes on post-uprising elections