Nepal’s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, following a decisive victory in the country’s first elections since deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the previous government last year.
The 35-year-old reformist, popularly known as Balen, and his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) dominated March’s polls on a platform of youth-driven political change. Shah campaigned alongside RSP president and former deputy prime minister Rabi Lamichhane, 51, a combative television host who remains a key figure in the new parliament.
“I, Balendra Shah, in the name of the country and the people, pledge that I will be loyal to the constitution,” Shah declared, dressed all in black, including his signature dark sunglasses, as crowds at the ceremony cheered and chanted his name.
Shah, who had remained publicly silent since the March 5 elections, released his first statement through a rap song posted online on Thursday evening. In it, he sang: “The strength of unity is my national power… My heart is full of courage, my red blood is boiling; my brothers stand with me, this time we will rise… May my breath not run out; I will run like a leopard.” The video has garnered nearly three million views.
The RSP won a commanding 182 of the 275 seats in the House of Representatives, signaling a generational shift in Nepalese politics.
Shah’s rise follows a youth-led anti-corruption uprising that left at least 77 people dead. The protests began over a brief social media ban but tapped into long-standing frustration over economic hardship in Nepal, a nation of 30 million.
Outgoing interim prime minister Sushila Karki, 73, a former chief justice who led the caretaker government for six months, bid farewell to the nation in a televised broadcast. She expressed confidence in the country’s new, youth-led administration.
“I am confident that the new government will work towards ending corruption, establishing good governance, creating jobs, driving economic development, and ensuring social justice,” Karki said. “I look forward to a bright future for Nepal, where our unity, honesty, and the hard work of every citizen will write a new history.”
Karki had ordered an investigation into the crackdown on protesters. A leaked copy of the commission’s report, seen by AFP, recommended the prosecution of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, who was ousted in the uprising and lost to Shah in his own constituency, as well as former interior minister Ramesh Lekhak and ex-police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung.
The report found that while it was “not established that there was an order to shoot,” officials made “no effort to stop or control the firing,” resulting in the deaths of minors and other civilians. Of 63 completed autopsies, 48 victims died from bullet wounds, most in the chest or head.
AFP
