Commentary: Nepal’s next prime minister won big – it comes with bigger expectations
CNA
Balendra Shah swept Nepal’s post-uprising election as the outsider. Governing is an entirely different challenge, says Rishi Gupta from the Asia Society Policy Institute.
NEW DELHI: The 35-year-old mayor of Kathmandu is set to become Nepal’s youngest elected prime minister, just six months after his predecessor was ousted following Gen Z protests against nepotism, corruption and poor governance.
Balendra Shah gets described as a former rapper or a rapper-turned-politician in media reports, but it’s more than an eye-catching headline. It’s a strong signal of how he represents voters’ belief that lasting reform would only be possible by supporting an outsider to Nepal’s political establishment.
The people of Nepal delivered a historic mandate on Mar 5 to the youth-backed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), a party founded only in 2022. To the surprise of election pundits and Nepal observers, Mr Shah led RSP to a landslide victory just shy of a two-thirds supermajority. Of the 275 seats up for grabs in parliament, the RSP captured a total of 182 seats – 125 through direct election and an additional 57 via the proportional representation system.
This has never been achieved in its democratic history. Not even the Maoist Centre, the architects of Nepal’s democracy who overthrew the monarchy, were able to accomplish this during the country’s first democratic elections in 2008.
Organisations have more employee information than ever before, but still rely on out-of-date snapshots and reductive metrics, say academics.
The three-year programme supports mothers, caregivers and women with health challenges to grow viable home businesses and regain confidence.
Mediacorp artiste Zoe Tay shares why Louis Vuitton remains her forever brand, from the first Keepall she bought with her Star Search prize money to monogram favourites and deeply sentimental bags tied to family memories.The fashion forward actress shares the stories behind her most-prized pieces from the French luxury house. In partnership with Louis Vuitton.
Amid the handwringing over Singapore’s falling birth rate, little is said about the lived reality of infertility, says CNA’s Erin Low.
The Crocs x Lego Brick Clog turns the iconic toy bricks into wearable footwear. We tried the playful collaboration to see what it’s really like to wear them.
Programmable according to your preferences, AI chatbots may seem appealing — particularly in a country where one in 10 people report not having a close friend. CNA series Besties puts AI-human friendship to the test.
Beyond pregnancy check-ups, some expectant mums are exploring chiropractic care and other holistic support to manage back pain, anxiety and postpartum recovery.
Expecting people to give up air-conditioning is unrealistic, which means we must find ways to ensure that cooling our spaces does not warm the planet further, says NUS’ Khoo Teng Chye.
A family health scare pushed Cynthea Lam to rethink food choices. Years later, she founded Super Farmers and created vegan, additive-free instant noodles.
From a tiny Kuala Lumpur studio to 20 countries and K-pop fans, Joe Chia builds a slow, independent fashion universe rooted in craft, memory and intentional growth.
Before pronouncing Singapore’s impending end, let’s re-examine whether a declining population will always result in economic catastrophe, says veteran newspaper editor Han Fook Kwang.
AWARE’s executive director, Lim Shoon Yin, on backlash against feminism, persistent inequalities and why women in Singapore still need stronger protections.
The image of a safe haven focused on economic growth in a turbulent region had been carefully nurtured over decades, says NUS Middle East Institute’s Carl Skadian.