Balen Shah Sworn In as Prime Minister: How Nepal Got Here, from the Gen Z Protests
Balendra Shah is Nepal's prime minister after the Rastriya Swatantra Party's landslide. A sourced timeline from the September 2025 Gen Z protests to today.
Balendra "Balen" Shah was sworn in as Nepal's prime minister on 27 March 2026 (Chaitra 13, 2082), capping one of the most dramatic years in the country's modern politics. In just over six months, Nepal went from deadly street protests to the biggest single-party election win in decades. This explainer sets out what happened, in order, with links to the reports behind each fact.
At a glance
- Who: Balendra "Balen" Shah, 35, former mayor of Kathmandu, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
- When: sworn in on 27 March 2026 (Chaitra 13, 2082).
- Why: the RSP won 182 of 275 seats in the 5 March 2026 election, after the September 2025 Gen Z protests brought down the Oli government.
Timeline at a glance
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Early Sept 2025 | The government blocks 26 social media platforms that had not registered with the authorities |
| 8 Sept 2025 | Youth-led "Gen Z" protests begin; police respond with deadly force |
| 9 Sept 2025 | Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli resigns |
| 12 Sept 2025 | Parliament is dissolved; former Chief Justice Sushila Karki becomes interim prime minister, the first woman to lead a government in Nepal |
| 5 Mar 2026 | General election for all 275 seats of the House of Representatives |
| Mid-Mar 2026 | Final results: the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) wins 182 seats |
| 27 Mar 2026 | Balen Shah is sworn in as prime minister |
How it started: the Gen Z protests
The protests began on 8 September 2025, after the government blocked 26 social media platforms. They quickly grew into a wider revolt against corruption and the old political leadership, driven largely by young people. The unrest left at least 76 people dead and thousands injured, according to figures reported by Reuters and summarised on Wikipedia's election article. Prime Minister Oli resigned on 9 September.
On 12 September, President Ram Chandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives and appointed Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice, as interim prime minister, with elections set for 5 March 2026.
The March 2026 election
About 59% of registered voters took part. The result was a landslide for the RSP, which had chosen former Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah as its prime ministerial candidate:
| Party | Seats (of 275) |
|---|---|
| Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) | 182 |
| Nepali Congress | 38 |
| CPN (UML) | 25 |
| Nepali Communist Party | 17 |
| Shram Sanskriti Party | 7 |
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 5 |
A majority needs 138 seats. The RSP's result was the first time since 1999 that a single party won a majority on its own, and its 47.8% share of the proportional vote was the highest since that system began in 2008. Both Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) had their worst results ever (Wikipedia, citing Reuters, Al Jazeera and The Guardian).
In the most watched race, Shah stood against Oli himself in Jhapa-5, and won. The four-time prime minister lost his seat (The Hitavada).
Prime Minister Balen Shah
Shah, a structural engineer and former rapper who became Kathmandu's mayor as an independent in 2022, was sworn in by President Paudel under Article 76(1) of the Constitution. At 35, he is described as Nepal's youngest prime minister in decades and the first from the Madhesh region (SCMP; Outlook India). Harvard-educated economist Swarnim Waglé became finance minister.
Why it matters
The result was a clear vote against the parties that had led Nepal for decades. A single-party majority means the RSP cannot blame coalition partners. The test now is whether fast reform can turn into lasting change on jobs, prices and services, the issues that brought young people onto the streets.
Update: the first seven months
Update (1 November 2026): this section was added after the swearing-in.
- Reform agenda: the government launched a 100-point governance reform agenda and cut the number of ministries (Tribune India, one month in).
- Mixed early reviews: supporters pointed to a fast pace and a hard line on corruption; the Public Procurement Monitoring Office says 120 firms have been blacklisted since 27 March (Nepal News, 30 Oct 2026). Critics pointed to two ministers resigning within the first month, a controversial demolition drive against riverbank settlements in the Kathmandu Valley, and a prime minister who rarely speaks to the press (The Annapurna Express; Gulf Times, 100 days).
- Press freedom: in late October, police went to several newsrooms and held journalists for questioning over their reports, including one about the police chief, drawing protests from journalists' bodies (OnlineKhabar).
- The courts: RSP lawmakers have recommended forming an impeachment recommendation committee, citing Article 101 on judicial misconduct (Nepal News, 1 Nov 2026).
- The economy: public debt has passed Rs 3 trillion, and the UN has given Nepal until 24 November 2029 to graduate from Least Developed Country status (Nepal News, 30 Oct 2026).
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Sources: Wikipedia: 2026 Nepalese general election · SCMP · Outlook India · The Hitavada · Tribune India · The Annapurna Express · Gulf Times · Nepal News