Nepal concludes first election since Gen Z protests with roughly 60% turnout

Guwahati: Nepal, home to about 30 million people, has completed its first election since the Gen Z-led protests in September last year. The Election Commission has not yet released the official voter turnout figures.

Around 18.9 million eligible voters participated to elect members of the 275-seat House of Representatives. Of these, 3,406 candidates contested 165 seats under the direct voting system, while 3,135 candidates competed for 110 seats through proportional representation.

The polls were conducted two years earlier than originally scheduled due to disruptions caused by the youth-led Gen Z protests, which aimed to address concerns about corruption, governance gaps, and the influence of Nepal’s established political leadership.

Election Commissioner Sagun Shumsher Rana told the Kathmandu Post that voting proceeded without major disruptions in most areas, with only a few isolated incidents reported. Polling stations opened at 7 am and closed at 5 pm, and counting is expected to start once the ballot boxes are collected.

Nepal’s political landscape ahead of the election shows a division between traditional and reform-oriented parties. The CPN-UML, led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was removed from office last year, is positioned as a hardline party.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by Ravi Lamichhane and senior leader Balendra Shah, and the renewed Nepali Congress under Gagan Thapa, are focusing on issues highlighted by the Gen Z movement. The Nepali Communist Party under Prachanda and the CPN-UML represent the more established political groups.

In the prime ministerial race, the RSP has nominated 35-year-old former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, while the Nepali Congress has proposed 49-year-old Gagan Thapa. The CPN-UML continues to support 75-year-old KP Sharma Oli for the position.