Nepal Election Results 2026 highlights: Balendra Shah's RSP ahead on 101 seats, KP Oli's CPN struggles to stay afloat

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Among the 15 mountainous districts, transportation of ballot papers remains pending in three districts-Sankhuwasabha, Dolpa and Gorkha, The Himalaya Times reported citing the Election Commission (EC).

Ballot papers for these districts have not been transported yet owing to adverse weather conditions. Kul Bahadur GC, Assistant Spokesperson of EC said that plans to transport these ballot papers by helicopter were thwarted by ongoing weather challenges.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: In Nepal’s parliamentary system, 165 lawmakers are directly elected in a first-past-the-post method, while another 110 are selected through a closed-list representation system based on the outcome of the directly elected seats. To form a government, a political party is required to cross the halfway mark of 135, a rare occurrence in the Himalayan nation, with coalition governments usually the norm.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party, the three-year-old political group led by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, is leading in 105 of the 165 seats

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is emerging as the frontrunner in Nepal's House of Representatives elections held on March 5, riding on a surge in popularity following the Gen Z-led movement in September.

According to The Kathmandu Post, preliminary vote counts indicate that the party is leading in 105 constituencies. Followed by CPN UML, leading in 11 constituencies.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Nepali journalist and publisher Kunda Dixit said Balen Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) could pull off a dramatic victory in Nepal’s parliamentary elections.

"If RSP hits the magic 138 seats, Balen will become prime minister -- and hopefully a cabinet of technocrats," said Kunda Dixit, publisher of the weekly Nepali Times, told AFP.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: In Bhaktapur-2, Rajiv Khatri of the Rastriya Swatantra Party is currently leading the vote count with 8,520 votes, according to the latest available tally by The Kathmandu Post.

Meanwhile, Mahesh Basnet of CPN (UML) is trailing with 2,876 votes, while Kavin Rana from the Nepali Congress has secured 1,342 votes so far.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Balen Shah, who was the Mayor of Kathmandu till recently, is leading in Jhapa-5 constituency against four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Oli in the latter's stronghold. Shah, popularly known as Balen, was leading with 6,551 votes, while Oli got just 1,428 votes till 4:19 pm, according to data by The Kathmandu Post.

Oli was followed by Samir Tamang of the Shram Sanskriti Party with 381 votes.

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by former rapper Balendra Shah, was leading in the latest 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 was leading in 102 seats and won from one constituency. Ousted premier Oli's CPN (UML) is leading in 9 seats while the Nepali Congress led by Gagan Thapa is leading in 11 seats.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Vote counting for the House of Representatives election in Rukum East is ongoing with Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), continuing to maintain his lead, as per Kathmandu Post

Dahal has obtained 6,820 votes, keeping him ahead of other contenders.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party candidate Ranju Neupane (Darshana) has won the parliamentary seat from Kathmandu-1, according to the final vote count.

Darshana secured 15,455 votes, defeating Nepali Congress candidate Prabal Thapa, who received 6,364 votes.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party candidate Rabindra Mishra, who had narrowly lost in the previous two elections, finished third with 3,972 votes, Kathmandu Post reported.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party candidates have led in five of Morang's six constituencies. In one constituency, the Shram Sanskriti Party's candidate leads.

According to the Office of the Returning Officer, Yagyamani Neupane of the RSP leads Constituency 1 with 4,125 votes. Krishna Bahadur Karki of the RSP is leading Constituency-2 with 1,181 votes, The Himalayan Times reported.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: According to the latest trends, here are what the numbers stand like in Nepal elections, according to Kathmandu post

Rastriya Swatantra Party - 96

Nepali Congress - 10

Nepali Communist Party - 9

CPN-UML- 9

Others- 2

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Pukar Bam has taken a commanding lead in the vote count for the House of Representatives seat in Kathmandu-4, according to the latest tally from the counting centre, according to The Himalyan Times.

Bam has secured 9,821 votes, far ahead of his closest rival, Nepali Congress candidate Sachin Timalsena, who has received 2,744 votes. CPN-UML’s Rajan Bhattarai is in third place with 2,327 votes.

Other candidates trailing in the constituency include Surendra Raj Bhandari of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party with 526 votes, Barun Amatya of the Shram Sanskriti Party with 433 votes, Jhanak Bahadur Adhikari of the Ujyalo Nepal Party with 384 votes, and Indra Kumar Bhusal of the Nepali Communist Party with 254 votes.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: The newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by former rapper Balendra “Balen” Shah, has emerged as the early frontrunner in Nepal’s parliamentary elections, leading in 93 constituencies as vote counting continues across the country, according to The Kathmandu Post.

The Nepali Congress has won one seat so far and is leading in 10 other constituencies, while the CPN-UML is ahead in eight seats.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Recap of Nepal election results

-Nepali rapper-turned-politician Balendra “Balen” Shah’s party is leading in more than two-thirds of the seats where early trends are available in Nepal’s general elections, ahead of rivals including the former prime minister ousted in last year’s uprising.

-Shah, 35, the former mayor of Kathmandu, has emerged as a leading contender for the prime minister’s post, gaining near rockstar-like popularity on social media following the youth-led uprising.

-By noon on Friday, Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, founded three years ago, was leading in 77 constituencies.

-Vote counting is underway for 165 seats filled through direct elections in Nepal’s 275-member lower house of parliament, while the remaining seats will be allocated through a proportional representation system.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party senior leader Balendra (Balen) Shah is leading by a wide margin in Jhapa-5, according to the preliminary vote count, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Shah has secured 5,254 votes, far ahead of CPN-UML chair and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, who has received 1,248 votes, while Nepali Congress candidate Mandhara Chimariya has 185 votes.

In Rukum East-1, Nepali Communist Party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal is also maintaining a strong lead. Dahal has secured 4,398 votes, ahead of Nepali Congress candidate Kusum Devi Thapa with 1,261 votes and CPN-UML’s Lilamani Gautam with 907 votes. Vote counting is still underway in both constituencies.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Here's how the Nepal elections have unfolded so far:

-Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leading in 77 constituencies

-Nepali Congress has won 1 seat and is leading in 8 others

-CPN-UML leading in 7 constituencies

-Nepali Communist Party leading in 6 constituencies

-Rastriya Prajatantra Party leading in 1 constituency

-Shram Sanskriti Party leading in 1 constituency

-67 parties contesting for 165 seats under the FPTP system

-Vote counting still underway across the country

(Source: The Kathmandu Post)

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Balen Shah could become Nepal’s prime minister, but only if his party secures enough seats to form a government in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Nepal’s lower house has 275 seats, and a party or coalition needs at least 138 seats to form a majority government. Of these, 165 members are elected through direct constituency contests and 110 are allocated later through proportional representation.

Balen Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is currently leading in 70 constituencies in early vote counting and has already secured one confirmed win with Ranju Neupane (Darshana) taking the Kathmandu-1 seat. Shah himself is also ahead of CPN-UML chairman and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa-5.

However, even if the RSP does not cross the 138-seat mark on its own, Shah could still become prime minister if his party emerges as the largest bloc and manages to form a coalition with other parties.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Ranju Neupane (Ranju Darshana) has won the Kathmandu-1 parliamentary seat under the first-past-the-post system.

Darshana, a prominent figure in Nepal’s alternative politics movement, entered mainstream politics at a young age. She joined the Bibeksheel Nepali Party in 2013 at the age of 17 and became known for her activism against nationwide bandh strikes that disrupted daily life, launching the “Strike Boycott Campaign”, according to The Himalayan Times.

She had also contested the Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayoral election at the age of 21. Nearly nine years later, Darshana has now secured a seat in Nepal’s House of Representatives.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Amresh Singh has taken an early lead over Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa in Sarlahi-4 as vote counting continues, according to a report by The Himalyan Times

According to Singh’s brother Shailendra Kumar Singh, the RSP candidate has secured 4,323 votes so far, while Thapa has received 1,245 votes as of 1:00 pm.

He added that the current lead is likely to be maintained.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Ranju Neupane (Darshana) has won the parliamentary seat from Kathmandu-1, according to the latest vote count.

Counting trends from the capital show RSP candidates leading in nine other constituencies. Sunil KC is ahead in Kathmandu-2, Raju Nath Pandey in Kathmandu-3, Pukar Bam in Kathmandu-4 and Sasmit Pokharel in Kathmandu-5, according to The Kathmandu Post.

In other constituencies, Shishir Khanal is leading in Kathmandu-6, Ganesh Parajuli in Kathmandu-7, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha in Kathmandu-8, Dol Prasad Aryal in Kathmandu-9 and Pradip Bista in Kathmandu-10.

Overall, counting is underway in 77 constituencies across the country. So far, the RSP and the Nepali Congress have won one seat each.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Balen Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is leading in 62 constituencies across Nepal in early vote counting.

The Nepali Congress is ahead in nine seats, while the CPN-UML is leading in four. The Nepali Communist Party and other parties are each leading in three constituencies.

So far, one seat each has been won by the RSP and the Nepali Congress, according to the latest available results.

RSP's candidate Ranju Neupane (Darshana) has won the parliamentary seat from Kathmandu-1.

His party widened his lead over CPN-UML chairman and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli as vote counting continues in Jhapa-5.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is leading in 62 constituencies in Nepal’s federal parliament elections, according to the latest vote count updates.

The Nepali Congress is ahead in nine seats, while the CPN-UML is leading in four. The Nepali Communist Party and other parties are each leading in three constituencies.

So far, one seat each has been won by the RSP and the Nepali Congress, according to the latest available results.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: The election has seen a surge of younger candidates promising to address Nepal’s struggling economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated the country’s politics for decades and argue that their experience ensures stability and security, AFP reported.

Nepal Election Results 2026 LIVE updates: Nepali journalist and publisher Kunda Dixit said Balen Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) could pull off a dramatic victory in Nepal’s parliamentary elections.

"If RSP hits the magic 138 seats, Balen will become prime minister -- and hopefully a cabinet of technocrats," said Kunda Dixit, publisher of the weekly Nepali Times, told AFP.