KATHMANDU

Nepal has a new prime minister. 

Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, has been appointed as the country's 47th prime minister today.

He is scheduled to be sworn in this afternoon at Sheetal Niwas, the President's Office, amidst a ceremony attended by political leaders, diplomatic representatives, civil society members, and senior government officials.

President Ramchandra Paudel appointed Shah under Article 76(1) of the Constitution of Nepal as the leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which commands a majority in the House of Representatives. Ministers also took their oath of office and secrecy at the same ceremony.

A series of historic firsts

The appointment carries significant historical weight on multiple counts. It marks the first time since the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal in 2015 that Article 76(1) has been invoked to form a single-party majority government — a milestone that had eluded Nepal's fractured political landscape for over a decade.

Shah also becomes the first person from the Madhesi community to serve as Prime Minister of Nepal.

In another first, Shah enters the prime ministerial office on his very first term in parliament, having resigned as Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City to contest the March 5 general elections.

A landslide and a symbolic victory

The RSP swept the House of Representatives election held on March 5, winning 182 seats. Shah himself won from Jhapa Constituency-5 with 68,348 votes, defeating four-time former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in a result that reverberated across the country's political establishment.

The party elected Shah as its parliamentary party leader on Thursday, paving the way for his appointment. 

Earlier the same day, Arjun Narsingh KC, the senior-most member of the House of Representatives, administered the oath of office and secrecy to newly elected members of parliament.