Nepal: After Protest and Collapse, Nepal Faces a Defining Election

The early nationwide poll follows the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s coalition government at the height of a deadly anti-government Gen-Z rebellion led by students and young people in September 2025.

The Himalayan nation was originally scheduled to hold national polls in 2027, having conducted its last general election in 2022. However, after President Ram Chandra Paudel dissolved Nepal’s lower house of Parliament in September 2025, the electoral process began under an interim government led by retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki.

According to the Election Commission of Nepal, the country has over 18.9 million eligible voters. More than 3,400 candidates, including over 390 women representing 68 political parties and independent contenders, are vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

At least four former premiers remain in the race, along with three mayors who are also trying their luck in the electoral battles. Deposed premier Oli, 74, who leads the Communist Party of Nepal, will face electoral challenges from Balendra Shah in the Jhapa-5 Parliamentary constituency of eastern Nepal. Shah, 35, recently resigned as Kathmandu metropolitan city mayor to join the relatively new Rastriya Swatantra Party. An engineer turned rapper turned politician, Shah was one of the key figures in the September 2025 anti-corruption Gen-Z protests. Local political observers currently put him in prime position to win this week’s election.

If he is able to secure power, it will be the culmination of a dramatic rise for a man who entered the public spotlight using rap music and social media critical of the establishment.

His party has promised to raise Nepal's per capita income massively, as well as the campaigning on the ambitious goal of introducing health insurance for all Nepalese. However even if he wins the day, he faces a significant challenge in overhauling a corrupt and largely dysfunctional system of government and public services .

Former premier Oli, who resigned as head of the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress alliance government on September 9, recently claimed that foreign influencers were involved in overthrow of his government in Kathmandu. He suspects that the violent uprising, which resulted in 77 deaths and damage to government and private property estimated at 84 billion Nepali rupees (52 billion Indian rupees), was planned by people outside the country, in much the same way that civil unrest in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had been instigated.

He says Nepal was targeted by these elements to destroy democracy in the nation. On various occasions, he has also made anti-India comments and remained critical of New Delhi’s foreign policy towards Nepal, which also borders Tibet, the Chinese province that has seen its own on-going unrest in recent years.

The other three former premiers contesting in the Nepal election include Pushpakamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, 71, of the Communist Party of Nepal; Baburam Bhattarai, 71, from the Pragatisheel Loktantrik Party; and Madhav Kumar Nepal, 72, from the  Nepali Communist Party.

Two former premiers, Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress and Jhala Nath Khanal of the NCP, opted not to contest in the polls. Deuba chose to avoid the contest due to a division in his party under the leadership of Gagan Thapa, now recognised as the chief of Nepali Congress. Besides Balendra, two other candidates from mayoral positions, Harka Sampang and Renu Dahal, remain in the race.

Renu is the daughter of Prachanda, who led the decade-long Maoist movement in Nepal, and was instrumental in abolishing the Nepal Hindu monarchy in 2008. Nepal’s last king, Gyanendra Shah, now lives the life of an ordinary citizen but maintains visible support bases across the country. He recently made a public comment criticizing Nepali political leaders for adopting an increasingly imbalanced foreign policy and conduct against national interests.

Addressing the nation on the 304th birth anniversary of Prithvi Narayan Shah, his forefather, and National Unity Day, the former monarch condemned the political leadership for bringing the country into persistent crises over the last two decades.

India, responding to requests from the government and different political parties, continues to extend logistical support to Nepal. Recently, the world’s largest democracy supplied more than 60 double-cab pickup vehicles along with other supplies to support Kathmandu’s preparation for this weeks elections. New Delhi has been offering election-related assistance to Nepal since 2008.

China has also expressed its commitment to provide support for the successful running of the poll. Chinese diplomat Chen Song recently told journalists in Kathmandu that  Beijing puts a high priority on Nepal’s political stability, development, and prosperity.

 Amid the electoral fever, hardcore supporters of the deposed king are demanding restoration of the monarchy, arguing that selfish politicians have failed the citizens, particularly the younger generation.

 Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which supports the constitutional monarchy, is raising its voice for the return of King Gyanendra, arguing that he remains the only alternative to save Nepal and its people.

Asia Media Centre