Nepal’s Election Commission confirmed on Saturday that Shah, 35,received 68,348 votes compared to Oli’s 18,734 to unseat the former leader in his constituency.

Thursday’s general election – the first since violent youth-led protests toppled the government in September – pitted the establishment against a new generation of politicians advocating for angry, young Gen Z voters hungry for change.

Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is now seemingly on course to win the general election.

The party has a majority in directly elected seats in the general election counted so far, according to partial official results on Sunday, and could be heading for a landslide, official trends suggest.

The 35-year-old is also leading in the proportional representation vote count so far, according to the election commission.

For more than two decades, Nepal has seen a revolving door of coalition governments, largely dominated by three parties, two of them communist.

Ahead of this election, it looked set to test whether Gen Z voters had succeeded in convincing the rest of the country that it is time for a new, untested generation to shape their future, or whether veteran heavyweights – who have dominated for decades – would keep hold of power.

The country’s youth included 800,000 first-time voters, making them a key voter bloc.

Shah, who is popularly known as Balen, has been a member of the Nepali hip hop scene for several years, with one of his songs “Balidan” about sacrifice in the Nepali language cultivating millions of YouTube views.

In September 2025 unrest erupted in Nepal with so-called Gen Z demonstrations, triggered by Oli’s banning of social media platforms.

The demonstrations escalated with protesters criticising Nepal’s political system and the symbolism of class inequality “nepo babies” – children of the country’s politicians.

A total of 77 were killed during the protests, and a BBC investigation revealed the country’s police chief issued an order of lethal fire against thousands of unarmed protesters.

Shah spoke in support of the protesters and at one stage called Oli a “terrorist” who had betrayed his country.

The rapper typically shuns the media, but told the Financial Times while he was on the campaign trail he would be “the candidate for all of Nepal”.

Shah’s RSP released its manifesto in February which vowed to create 1.2 million jobs and reduce forced migration, in an effort to tap into frustration over unemployment and low wages that has pushed millions of Nepalis to move overseas.

The party has also pledged that within five years it would raise Nepal’s per capital income from $1,447 to $3,000, more than double the country’s economy to $100 billion GDP and provide safety nets such as healthcare insurance for the population.

From September, those seeking to summit the world’s tallest mountain during peak season will have to pay $15,000 (£12,180), a 36% rise on the longstanding fee of $11,000, officials said on Wednesday.

Fees for those wanting to climb outside the peak April to May period will also increase by the same percentage – meaning it will cost $7,500 during September to November, and $3,750 during December to February.

Income from permit fees is a key source of revenue for Nepal, with mountain climbing and trekking contributing more than 4% to the country’s economy.

Mountaineering experts often criticise Nepal’s government for allowing too many climbers on Everest, however, with about 300 permits to the mountain issued per year.

It is unclear if the price increase, which was under discussion since last year, will slow demand.

“The royalty (permit fees) had not been reviewed for a long time,” Narayan Prasad Regmi, director general of the Department of Tourism, told Reuters. “We have updated them now.”

Regmi did not specify how the extra revenue would be used.

In April 2024, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government to limit the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, saying that the mountains’ capacity “must be respected”.

The preliminary order did not set a maximum number, though.

Amid concerns about overcrowding on Everest and climbers queuing in dangerous conditions to reach the summit, the Nepalese army in 2019 began conducting an annual clean-up of the mountain, which is often described as the world’s highest garbage dump.

In that time at least five clean-ups have collected 119 tonnes of rubbish, 14 human corpses and some skeletons, according to the army – but it is estimated that a further 200 bodies remain on the mountain.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest.