Nepal - March 2026
New protester-aligned party secures landslide win in general election
On 5 March, Nepal held snap parliamentary elections for all 275 seats in the House of Representatives, marking the country’s first national election since the youth-led protests of September 2025. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), whose prime ministerial candidate was Balendra Shah, won a majority with 182 seats. The two parties that had dominated Nepali politics in recent decades experienced significant losses. The Nepali Congress fell from 89 seats to 38, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) fell from 78 seats to 25. Voter turnout was estimated at 59.7 per cent, down from 61.4 per cent in the 2022 election. Women’s representation increased to 96 (34.9 per cent), compared to 91 (33.1 per cent) in the 2022 election. Election observers found that the election was conducted peacefully and in an orderly manner.
Sources: IPU Parline, ANFREL, Centre for Gender and Politics, Election Commission of Nepal, The Rising Nepal
