Now the people have chosen a party founded only four years ago.
A prominent rapper with more than a million followers on Instagram has the best chance of becoming prime minister.
In the parliamentary elections in Nepal, which are considered crucial for the future of the country, a convincing victory is in sight for the party of the former mayor of Kathmandu and rapper Balendra Shah. According to official partial results released on Sunday evening (local time), the relatively young RSP (Rastriya Swatantra Party) won 120 of the 165 directly elected seats in the lower house and led in five other constituencies. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two parliamentary houses.
With majority support from the centrist RSP, their prominent 35-year-old front-runner Shah, also known as Balen, stands a good chance of becoming the Himalayan nation’s next prime minister.
Nepalese media and experts see the success of RSP, founded only four years ago, as an extremely strong mandate and a sign of growing distrust towards the previous ruling elite. Thursday’s snap election was the first since deadly unrest six months ago that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Khadge Prasad Sharma Oli and the dissolution of parliament. The uprising, now often referred to as the Generation Z Revolution, was also seen as a test of the influence of younger voters in the impoverished country of about 30 million people.
Young people in particular associate Shah, who has made a name for himself in Nepal’s hip-hop scene since the 2010s, with the hope of reform and a new political beginning. Four years ago, he won the election for mayor of Kathmandu as an independent candidate.
At the beginning of this year, he resigned and joined RSP.
(Vijesti.ba)
