Rapper-turned politician Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is set to become Nepal’s next prime minister as the official vote count nears completion.
Millions of Nepalese cast ballots Thursday during the first national election since youth-led protests toppled the country’s previous leader last year.
The winner, Balen’s party, is heading toward a clear majority of the 275 seats in parliament, results from the Election Commission showed on Sunday.
The 36-year-old former mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, handily defeated Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old former prime minister.
Violent Gen-Z protests propelled by frustration over corruption and a lack of jobs prompted Oli to resign from the post in September.
Balen’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party has promised to create more than a million jobs over the next five to seven years and to double per capita gross domestic product to $3,000 over the same span.
During a January interview before he launched his campaign, Balen said the old parties had failed to deliver and as prime minister he would focus on good governance and ending corruption.
