Nepal rivals rally on final day of election campaign

Nepal's election campaign entered its final day on Monday, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government, with rival leaders making a last push in a tightly contested race.

The Himalayan republic will elect a new parliament on Thursday, replacing the interim government that has led the country of 30 million people since the September 2025 uprising in which at least 77 people were killed.

Sushila Karki, who is serving as prime minister until the vote, called for "peace and harmony" in a broadcast to the nation on Monday.

Karki, a former chief justice, also urged all to vote to "move the country forward on the path of political stability and prosperity".

"It is only with your active participation that our democracy will survive," she added.

Two weeks of campaigning have showcased a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal's woeful economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for two decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security.

Among the key figures is KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year.

"Other candidates are all new, they have no experience, nothing," Oli told reporters as he campaigned on Monday.

But he faces a high-profile challenge in his home constituency from former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician widely known as Balen.

Their constituency of Jhapa-5 -- a mix of towns and farming settlements in Nepal's eastern plains, with the world's highest peaks on the horizon -- has emerged as a crucial battleground.

A local defeat for either man would likely end his bid to become prime minister.

'Old age' club

"We have had a difficult few years with old leadership, and we need new energy," 50-year-old bus driver Pawan Jha told AFP, as he attended Shah's rally in Jhapa. "The protests were important to bring about change."

Shah, dressed in a sharp-cut black suit and sunglasses, waving from a car he was driving himself through farmlands of Jhapa, arrived at his rally to cheers, whistles and thumping music.

Oli, speaking to AFP, blamed "anarchic forces" for the violence that led to his removal and denied ordering security forces to kill protesters during the unrest.

Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change.