Nepal's newly formed Rastriya Swantantra Party leads in early counting of votes

The newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party RSP, led by former rapper Balendra Shah, was leading in the early counting of votes on Friday in Nepals first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests led to the downfall of the K P Sharma Oli-led coalition government.

The newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by former rapper Balendra Shah, was leading in the early counting of votes on Friday in Nepal's first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests led to the downfall of the K P Sharma Oli-led coalition government. The RSP has won three seats and is leading in another 45 of the 57 constituencies where counting was going on till 10 am, according to party sources. Ousted premier Oli's CPN (UML) is leading in five seats while the Nepali Congress led by Gagan Thapa is in third position with leads in four seats. The Nepali Communist Party led by former premier Pushpakamal Dahal ''Prachanda'' is leading in two seats and pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajantrantra Party is ahead on one seat. The RSP has won three seats, Kathmandu 1, Kathmandu 7 and Kathmandu 8, according to party sources. However, the Election Commission is yet to officially announce the result. Biraj Bhakta Shrestha won from Kathmandu 8, Ranju Darshana from Kathmandu 1 and Ganesh Parajuli from Kathmandu 7. The RSP has won the Kathmandu 1 constituency with its candidate Ranju Darshana winning by a ''huge margin'', according to RSP central committee member R K Dhungana. Ranju secured more than 10,000 votes, almost double than the nearest rival, Prabal Thapa Chhetri of the Nepali Congress, Dhungana said. Former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is leading in Jhapa 5 constituency over ousted prime minister and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chair Oli. The RSP is leading in all the 10 constituencies of Kathmandu, according to media reports. Nepal witnessed about 60 per cent voter turnout during the elections to the House of Representatives on Thursday. Vote counting started late on Thursday night and is expected to be completed by Friday night, according to the Election Commission. The RSP, formed in 2022, has received significant support during the campaign, and Shah is said to be a strong candidate for prime minister. On the other hand, the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were part of the government toppled by the Gen Z last year. Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa is the prime ministerial candidate of his party, whereas the CPN (UML) has projected Oli as its PM face. Nepal's 18.9 million voters were eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives. They will elect 165 HoR members through first past the post (FPTP) or direct voting system, and 110 members through proportionate voting. Around 3,400 candidates are vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.

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