Nepal awaits results as crucial post-uprising Parliamentary polls conclude

Nepal election pits youth against old guard

Nepal went to the polls on Thursday to elect a new parliament, marking a high-stakes contest between established political forces and a growing youth-driven movement, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests forced the government from power.

Prominent contenders include the Marxist former prime minister seeking a political comeback, a rapper-turned-mayor appealing to younger voters, and the newly elected leader of the influential Nepali Congress party.

After voting concluded, election officials gathered ballot boxes and transported the papers under guard to counting centres.

“The voting process has been concluded peacefully and enthusiastically,” Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari told reporters, adding that turnout was estimated at around 60 percent based on preliminary figures.

Initial results are expected to be announced as early as Friday, although full outcomes could take several days to confirm.

If no party secures an outright majority — as many analysts anticipate — negotiations to form a government may extend the transition period.

“Nepalis have been waiting for change for so long, from one system to another,” said Nilanta Shakya, 60, a retired engineer who was among the first to vote in Kathmandu.

“I hope there is a meaningful change this time,” she added.

Voters were selecting representatives to replace the interim administration that has governed since the September 2025 uprising, when at least 77 people were killed and parliament along with multiple government buildings were set ablaze.

Youth-led protests under a loose Gen Z banner began as a demonstration against a brief social media ban, but were fed by wider grievances at corruption and a woeful economy.

Sushila Karki, the interim prime minister, said the vote was critical in "determining our future".

The polls are one of the most hotly contested elections in the Himalayan republic of 30 million people since the end of a civil war in 2006.

Thousands of soldiers and police have been deployed.

The election saw a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal's dismal economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security.

"Today feels like a day of celebration," said Nirmala Bhandari, 50, a housewife, who danced in the street with friends for a video for social media, after casting her vote in Bhaktapur district outside the capital.

"I am hopeful that the country will get new leaders and that we will build a better nation."

Helicopters will be used to collect ballot boxes from snowbound mountain regions across Nepal, home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest.

But all eyes will be focused on the hot farming plains south of Kathmandu, where all three prime ministerial hopefuls contested seats -- a departure from past elections that focused on the capital.

KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year and seeking a return to power, was challenged in the usually sleepy eastern district of Jhapa by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician.

"This election must reestablish democracy and contribute to end non-political, anarchic and violent tendencies," Oli said after voting, insisting his party would win the largest number of seats.

The Jhapa-5 constituency, with around 163,000 voters, will determine whether Oli secures his seat or whether Shah enters parliament.

Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who queued to vote in Kathmandu dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change.

Also in the race as aspiring prime minister is Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the country's oldest party, Nepali Congress, who has said he wants to end the "old age" club of revolving veteran leaders.

After casting his ballot, Thapa told AFP that it is "the duty of the leaders" not to let the events of last September occur again.

On social media, voters shared images of their ink-marked thumbs -- alongside photographs of the September protests.

"At the Gen Z protest, people died -- and their blood will bring change, we hope," said Tek Bahadur Aale, 66, who voted in Jhapa.

"We hope a government with good governance, no corruption, comes this time."

More than 3,400 candidates are running for 165 seats in direct elections to the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, with 110 more chosen via party lists.

(With AFP inputs)