The same Gen Z movement that led an uprising against government corruption last year is set to have their choice for Prime Minister become the leader of Nepal. The results were astounding, with around 100 of the 165 parliamentary seats going to the Gen Z-supported Rastriya Swotantra Party (RSP), the largest landslide in the country’s recent history. According to The New York Times, early results showed that the RSP backed Balendra Shah, the former mayor of Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu. This election was the first since the uprising that led to the resignation of the country’s prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli, an uprising that initially ignited due to a social media ban and resulted in 19 deaths. It is notable that no elected government in the history of Nepal has served a full five-year term, due to corruption and chaos within the country’s politics. The RSP was founded less than four years ago and presents itself as a party that is both technocratic and digitally fluent, according to The New York Times.

Shah, the Gen Z-backed Prime Minister candidate, has many of his biggest supporters and former aides within the party itself. The candidates of the RSP who ran this election are, on average, 10 years younger than Nepal’s historically three leading political parties, which is noteworthy due to the movement that kicked off this monumental change within Nepal’s politics being led by Gen Z. The RSP, however, does not currently have any seats in the upper house, which it needs to implement its biggest proposed changes, like a directly elected Prime Minister. Elections in the upper house happen separately and have not occurred yet. Additionally, it is notable that Shah only joined the RSP in January 2026, and the party’s founder Rabi Lamichhane is currently dealing with fraud charges, though he won reelection to his parliamentary seat. This victory is reportedly because of Shah, according to The New York Times, citing RSP official Subhash Sharma. Though Shah faced his own controversies during his time as mayor of Kathmandu, he was still a popular mayor and now national figure. Only time will tell if true reform will come to Nepal through this change of government and its Gen Z-backed candidate for Prime Minister, but for now, there is hope within the nation.