RSP nears majority as 28 seats await results

With more than half of the votes counted under the proportional representation (PR) system in the House of Representatives election, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has secured nearly 50 percent of the votes.

The fourth-largest party in the dissolved House has significantly outpaced traditional, established parties this election. So far, the Nepali Congress has won 15 seats, CPN-UML 7, and the Nepal Communist Party 6. Additionally, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Shram Sanskriti Party, and independent candidates have each claimed one seat.

Voters cast ballots for 110 PR seats in the House of Representatives election held on March 5. So far, 6.656 million votes have been counted out of the total 10.9 million votes cast.

According to the latest results, the RSP has received 3.248 million votes, accounting for 48.8 percent of the total counted votes.

Similarly, the Nepali Congress has secured 1,097,646 votes (16.48 percent), while the CPN-UML has received 933,183 votes (14 percent).

The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) has obtained 465,097 votes (6.9 percent) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has received 230,459 votes (3.4 percent).

Likewise, the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Harka Sampang has secured 189,356 votes (2.8 percent), while the Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal led by Upendra Yadav has received 93,176 votes (1.3 percent).

In the House of Representatives election, political parties must secure at least 3 percent of the total PR votes to qualify for seats under the proportional representation system. Based on the current vote count, only RSP, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, NCP and RPP appear likely to cross the threshold.

If the vote share remains unchanged until the final count, the RSP is projected to win around 60 seats under the PR system. Similarly, the Nepali Congress may secure 20 seats, the CPN-UML 17 seats, the Maoist Centre eight seats, and the RPP five seats.

The RSP has already won 124 seats under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.

In Gorkha-1, RSP candidate Sudhan Gurung is currently leading the vote count. If the party also wins this seat, its FPTP tally will rise to 125 seats.

Adding the projected 60 PR seats, the RSP could secure around 185 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

A party needs 184 seats to command a two-thirds majority in the House. If the current voting trend continues, the RSP appears on course to secure that threshold.