Supporters and a candidate from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) celebrate their expected victory in Nepal's general election by waving light blue party flags and ringing the party's symbolic bell in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 6 (local time). [Yonhap News]

In Nepal's general election, held six months after widespread anti-government protests by the so-called "Gen Z" resulted in over 70 deaths, a new centrist party led by a rapper in his 30s is poised for a landslide victory, leading in two-thirds of the constituencies.

According to local media outlet The Kathmandu Post on March 6 (local time), early vote counts from the previous day's general election show the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leading in 110 out of 165 constituencies as of this evening.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), led by former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who stepped down following last year's protests, showed leads in 11 constituencies.

The Nepali Congress (NC), a partner in Oli's former leftist coalition government, is leading in 10 constituencies.

Although only six constituencies have had their results confirmed so far, the current vote counting trend strongly suggests a sweeping victory for the RSP.

Bishwo Prakash Sharma, Deputy General Secretary of the NC, acknowledged their de facto defeat on X (formerly Twitter), stating that his party had accepted the will of the voters.

Rastriya Swatantra Party's Prime Ministerial Candidate, Balendra Shah [AP Yonhap News]

The RSP, founded in 2022, has nominated Balendra Shah (35, also known as Balen), a former mayor of Kathmandu and a rapper, as its prime ministerial candidate.

Reuters reported that Shah, who gained significant popularity on social media during the election campaign, had a commanding lead.

He emerged as a leading figure in last year's protests against the corruption of Oli's coalition government through his active social media engagement.

Shah ran in the eastern Jhapa-5 constituency against Oli, a native of the area, and current vote counts show him significantly defeating Oli, who garnered about 3,000 votes, with over 13,600 votes, solidifying his path to becoming the next prime minister.

Kunda Dixit, publisher of the local weekly Nepali Times, told AFP that the results were "a much bigger shock than we expected," adding, "This clearly shows the public's disappointment with the poor performance of the established parties and how great the anger was following the (September) events (of the protests)."

Deepak Adhikari (33), who voted for the RSP in Kathmandu yesterday, told Reuters, "I voted for RSP because of Balen. I believe he will become prime minister and make the country prosperous."

Approximately 59% of eligible voters participated in the general election to elect a total of 275 members of the House of Representatives, comprising 165 directly elected members and 110 proportional representatives.

The Election Commission of Nepal expects the election results to be announced tonight or around March 7.

In some remote mountainous villages, polling stations are only accessible by foot over several days, so authorities are transporting ballot boxes to counting centers by helicopter.

Prakash Nyupane, spokesperson for the Election Commission of Nepal, told AFP that vote counting is proceeding peacefully across the Himalayas, from snow-covered high-altitude regions to the hot plains bordering India.

Sushila Karki, an interim prime minister and former Chief Justice who has been working to stabilize the political situation since last year's protests, also praised the peaceful conduct of the election, stating that this general election is "very important in determining our future."

Earlier, in September last year, 77 people were killed and over 2,000 injured when Nepalese police forcefully suppressed large-scale protests by the young "Gen Z" against government corruption, leading to Oli's resignation.