Nepalese vote in general election months after Gen Z uprising | News

Complete results might not be known for a week, but trends expected to begin emerging on Friday.

Nepalese have voted in elections to elect a new parliament amid hopes for change nearly six months after deadly Gen Z protests forced Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli to resign.

Counting at most booths was to begin after polls closed at 5pm (11:15 GMT) on Thursday, and early trends are likely to emerge by Friday, Election Commission officials said. However, complete results could take a week.

Turnout in the vote to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives was estimated at 60 percent, acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said at a news conference.

“Apart from a few isolated incidents of obstruction, the preliminary reports from the national and international observers deployed to monitor the election also indicate that the election has been conducted peacefully,” he said.

Turnout in the country’s previous elections in 2022 was 61 percent.

The vote comes months after youth-led protests shook the South Asian nation when thousands of young Nepalis took to the streets to demand accountability, jobs and an end to corruption. At least 77 people were reported killed in the Gen-Z-led demonstrations.

‘Many people gave their lives’

Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.

The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties nominate lawmakers based on their share of the vote.

“I came to vote mainly because of the protest and so many people gave their lives in the hope of a change, in hope of seeing a better Nepal,” Luniva, a first-time voter, told The Associated Press news agency.

“I want to see my country become better by all the sacrifices that have been made.”

Promises to create jobs, rein in corruption and improve governance – all demands raised during the September protests – dominated much of the election campaign.

“The election is critical to address the aspirations of the youths expressed during the Gen Z protests,” political analyst Puranjan Acharya told the Reuters news agency.

“If the newly elected leaders are seen ‌as ‌unfit to do so, there is a risk of further trouble.”

Three-way contest

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), a centrist party formed less than four years ago, is considered the front runner and a strong challenger to two long-dominant parties: the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) of former Prime Minister Oli.

The RSP’s prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician and former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, who emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising.

Oli is once again in the fray, along with more than 3,400 other candidates from ⁠65 parties.

However, the 35-year-old Shah drew large crowds during the campaign and connected with legions of young voters clamouring for change.