March 27, 2026, 11:13 amMarch 27, 2026, 11:13 am
Three weeks after his party’s landslide victory in Nepal’s parliamentary elections, former rapper Balendra Shah is the country’s new head of government.
Balendra Shah is the new Prime Minister of Nepal.Image: keystone
Shah, who also goes by the stage name Balen, took his oath of office in the capital Kathmandu. The 35-year-old is the youngest head of government in the Himalayan state since the restoration of a multi-party system in 1990.
Many people in the poor country associate Shah, who made a name for himself in Nepal’s hip-hop scene in the 2010s and later became mayor of Kathmandu, with hope for reforms and a new political beginning.
First election since deadly riots
The snap election on March 5th was the first since the deadly unrest more than six months ago, which led to the resignation of then Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli and the dissolution of Parliament.
In the election, Shah’s centrist party RSP (Rastriya Swatantra Party) won almost two-thirds of the seats in the lower house. The relatively young RSP secured 182 seats, clearly beating established parties such as the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML). The lower house is the more powerful of the two chambers of parliament.
A blocking of social media platforms drove tens of thousands of people, mostly young people from “Generation Z”, onto the streets in September. They denounced widespread corruption and nepotism. More than 70 people were killed in the riots. (dab/sda/dpa)