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Strong government weak opposition

In the general elections held on March 5, 2026 the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won overwhelmingly 182 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives (HOR). Accordingly, a new majority government was formed under the leadership of RSP senior leader Balendra (Balen) Shah, without the support of any political party. 

 The RSP enjoys a comfortable majority government, whereas the oppositions are in weak positions in the national political history. The Nepali Congress (NC) has been reduced to a mere 38 seats. The CPN-UML holds 25, the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) 17, the Shram Sanskriti Party (SSP) 7, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) just 5. No other party managed to get even 10 percent of the total seats other than the NC. When the opposition is significantly weaker than a strong ruling party, the foundational checks and balances of a democratic system might be significantly weakened or break down. This has raised a fundamental question for the democratic republic— can a weak opposition hold a powerful executive accountable?

Also, the RSP seems, based on its numerical strength, to command a majority in the parliamentary committees, which are supposed to ensure executive accountability including the Impeachment Recommendation Committee. This situation can create a weak control mechanism to oversee the executive functions.

It remains to be seen whether the NC, CPN-UML, NPC, SSP and RPP can hold to maintain “Checks and Balances” when the RSP majority government pushes through bills, legislations, constitutional amendments, and other parliamentary affairs with meaningful confrontation

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