Nepal’s first post-uprising election campaign begins, with 19 million voters set to choose a new path after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the previous government.
KATHMANDU: Campaigning for Nepal’s landmark parliamentary elections officially commenced on Monday. The March 5 vote is the first since deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the previous government in September 2025.
“This election will draw the future of the country,” interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki said ahead of the launch. The youth-led uprising was triggered by a brief social media ban but fuelled by anger at economic stagnation and an ageing elite.
Over two days in September, 77 people were killed and hundreds of buildings were set on fire. The violence, the nation’s worst since its civil war ended in 2006, ousted 73-year-old Marxist leader KP Sharma Oli.
The two-week campaign will see new, younger candidates promise change. They will challenge veteran politicians who argue they provide stability and security.
A key electoral clash will see rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, 35, face Oli in the former prime minister’s own constituency. Sharply dressed Shah, known as Balen, has become a symbol of youth-driven political change.
He has joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the fourth biggest in the last parliament. Also in the race is the country’s oldest party, the Nepali Congress.
It has elected a new 49-year-old leader, Gagan Thapa, since the uprising. At the other end of the spectrum, supporters of deposed ex-king Gyanendra Shah, 78, will also campaign.
The royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party rallied thousands in Kathmandu on Friday. The ex-king drove through the streets waving from his car.
Nearly 19 million people have registered to vote, including 800,000 first-time participants. Voters will elect members to the 275-seat House of Representatives.
More than 3,400 candidates are competing in the direct vote, with 30% aged under 40. Campaign banners and party flags are already being strung up in towns nationwide.
“This election is being conducted in a special condition,” former chief justice Karki said last week. “This has to give the country a way out.”
Nepal’s Election Commission says it is ready to hold the polls as planned. It has dismissed concerns over weather conditions in high-altitude areas.
The vote is being held unusually early in the year due to an accelerated schedule. This was brought on by the September unrest.
Extra security forces have been drafted to ensure calm. Around 300,000 officers and temporary election police have been deployed.
The Sun Malaysia
