March 07, New Delhi: Hundreds of supporters took to the streets across Nepal, singing, dancing, and celebrating as the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, appeared poised to achieve an absolute two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election to the country's House of Representatives, as counting continued.
Supporters gathered at counting centers, dancing to songs praising the soon-to-be Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, popularly known as "Balen," and ringing bells, the party's election symbol.
Balendra Shah, a former rapper and mayor, is on track to become the next Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation following the party's strong performance in the election, which was held in the aftermath of last year's September youth-led protests that ousted the government led by KP Sharma Oli.
With vote counts still underway for the 165 seats contested under the First-Past-the-Post system, the RSP is currently leading in over 100 seats with three confirmed victories.
The rival Nepali Congress is significantly behind, leading in only 12 seats with two victories, while the CPN-UML, led by the deposed Prime Minister Oli, has yet to record any victories but is leading in 11 seats.
Final results, covering the 165 directly elected seats and 110 seats through proportional representation, are expected within the next week.