Nepal's centrist party of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah took an early lead in the high-stakes parliamentary election on Friday, as slow counting continued after the first polls since last year's deadly uprising.

But despite Shah's party loyalists dancing on the streets of Kathmandu in celebration -- the numbers of votes counted remain too low to be confident that it will translate into concrete wins.

By Friday afternoon, 24 hours after polls closed, early trends issued by the Election Commission put Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) ahead.

Alongside Shah, key figures vying for power include Marxist leader KP Sharma Oli, four-time prime minister who was ousted by the September 2025 anti-corruption protests, and the newly elected leader of the Nepali Congress party, Gagan Thapa.