KATHMANDU - Event date: March 5, 2026. Nepalis voted in the country’s first nationwide election since a violent youth-led uprising forced the government from power in September, with officials saying the vote was largely peaceful and turnout reached about 60 percent.
The election is being watched closely because it is the first major test of the political order after the protests that shook the country last year. Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said only a few minor incidents were reported and that counting would begin as soon as ballot boxes reached counting centers across the country. Helicopters were to be used to move ballots from remote mountain polling stations.
The voting system in Nepal gives voters two ways to shape the 275-member House of Representatives. The AP report says 165 members are elected directly while the remaining 110 are allocated through proportional representation. That structure means parties are watching both local races and national vote share.
The contest is widely seen as a three-way race. The National Independent Party, founded in 2022, is treated as the front-runner and is challenging the long-dominant Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). Its prime ministerial candidate is Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician who won Kathmandu’s mayoral race in 2022 and became a prominent figure in the 2025 uprising.
The issues driving the vote are familiar but intense: corruption, accountability and who can restore trust in government. The source packet says the protests were triggered by a social media ban, then escalated into a broader revolt against poor governance. Dozens died and hundreds were injured as police fired on demonstrators and government buildings were attacked.
There is also a generational element. Shah’s campaign has attracted large crowds and younger voters looking for a break from the political parties that have dominated for years. The Congress and Communists still have loyal bases, but the election is being framed as a referendum on whether the old order can keep control after the uprising.
The logistical challenge is huge. Nepal has about 19 million registered voters, but roughly 3 million citizens working abroad cannot vote because the country does not yet have an overseas voting system. That limits participation in a country where labor migration is a major part of the economy and family life.
For the incoming government, the job will be formidable even before coalition talks begin. It must respond to the demands that brought people into the streets, reduce corruption and manage relations with India and China. The peaceful start to voting is encouraging, but it is only the first step in a much larger political reset.
