Martin Duffy
As I have learnt, observing Nepal’s elections, its dual-election system all but excludes “knock-out” victory. Typically, counting continues tediously for weeks. Party bosses sit cheek by jowl, quarrelling over paltry, disputed ballots. The 5 March election was called after youth protests in September 2025 forced the resignation of K. P. Sharma Oli. This year, the Gen Z vote brought seismic change. From e-day 5 March 2026, it was apparent that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) under rapper-turned-politician, Balendra Shah, had broken the glass ceiling. The country’s allegedly corrupt political elite and entrenched power structures fell. Symbolically, Balendra himself trounced Oli even on his home turf. Thus, the barely four-year-old RSP pulled off a decisive majority. The CPN (Nepal’s Communist Party) simply folded like a box of cards.
How did Nepal electorally transform, and why is Gen Z so important? The immediate catalyst for the unrest was the Cabinet decision on 4 September 2025 to ban major social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp, citing their failure to register under new, restrictive digital laws. This digital blackout was widely perceived as an attempt to stifle dissent and stymy communication networks used by activists. In response, a leaderless movement, predominantly organised by students, erupted on 8 September 2025. Protesters converged at Maitighar Mandala and marched toward the Federal Parliament Building, demanding an end to both the digital embargo and the Council of Ministers.
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