Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah has been sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister following a landslide election victory that reshapes the country’s political landscape.
Shah, 35, took the oath of office on Friday at the President House in Kathmandu, in the presence of diplomats and senior government officials, becoming the youngest prime minister in decades and the first Madhesi leader of the Himalayan nation.
His three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party secured 182 seats in the 275-member parliament in the March 5 election, marking a decisive mandate from voters.
The election was the first since the anti-corruption Gen Z protests in September last year, during which 76 people were killed.
Shah, a former mayor of Kathmandu, now faces the task of restoring political stability and tackling unemployment in a country long plagued by fragile governments and weak economic growth.
Political analyst Puranjan Acharya outlined the immediate expectations facing the new administration.
“The first test of the new government lies in transparent and prompt delivery of services to people, who expect early signs of good governance from Sunday itself,” Acharya said.
He added that a key early challenge will be implementing the findings of a panel that investigated the deadly crackdown on protesters, including recommendations to prosecute those responsible, among them former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
The youth-led protests were driven by widespread frustration over unemployment and corruption in the country of 30 million people, where about one-fifth of the population lives in poverty and an estimated 1,500 people leave daily in search of work abroad.
Nepal’s political instability remains a major concern, with 32 governments formed since 1990, none completing a full five-year term.
The Nepali Congress came a distant second in the election with 38 seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), led by Oli, secured 25 seats.
Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki oversaw the interim administration leading up to the election.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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