Former rapper’s fledgling political party sweeps Nepal’s first post-revolt election

A political party created just four years ago and led by an ex-rapper has swept Nepal’s parliamentary poll, results published by the electoral commission on Thursday showed.

KATHMANDU, Nepal — A political party created just four years ago and led by an ex-rapper has swept Nepal’s parliamentary poll, results published by the electoral commission on Thursday showed.

The election — the country’s first since last year’s youth-led revolt — was won by the Rastriya Swatantra Party, or RSP, of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah.

The RSP won 125 directly elected seats plus a further 57 as part of the proportional representation votes, giving it a total 182 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament. The Nepali Congress party came second, with 38 seats.

In Nepal, voters directly elect 165 members to the House of Representatives. The remaining 110 seats are allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties are assigned seats based on their share of the vote.

Add NBC News to GoogleSocial media ban sparks violent protests in Nepal01:03The commission will ask the political parties to provide the names of members to fill the seats won through the proportional representation system. They would then report to the president, who in turn will summon the new parliament, which will elect a new prime minister — who would need the support of half its members. The RSP holds nearly two-thirds of seats now.