Nepal's Monarchy Revival Protests and Coalitions — 2026-09-23
Nepal marked the 11th Constitution Day on September 20 with Prime Minister Balendra Shah pushing a constitutional amendment/review debate just days after taking office, while the Supreme Court ruled that amendments require two-thirds majorities in both houses. RPP chairman Rajendra Lingden reiterated calls for a national consensus "with the King," as royalist forces position themselves around the amendment debate. Separately, The Diplomat reports Hindu majoritarian politics is seeping into Nepal, and an RPP lawmaker paid tribute to Deepti Acharya in a poignant personal column.
Nepal's Monarchy Revival Protests and Coalitions — 2026-09-23
Top developments
Constitution Day marked amid amendment uncertainty
Nepal marked the 11th Constitution Day on September 20 — twenty years after King Gyanendra restored a dissolved parliament on April 24, 2006 — with Prime Minister Balendra Shah addressing the nation from the Army Pavilion. Reporting notes the government, less than a week into its mandate, moved to prepare a "debate paper" on constitutional amendment, framed as an effort to dispel widespread distrust in the constitution process
Supreme Court: two-thirds in both houses required for amendment
On September 16, Pardafas reported that the Supreme Court directed that any constitutional amendment must secure a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the Federal Parliament. This raises the procedural bar sharply for the ruling coalition, given that RSP's 182 seats in the 275-member House fall just two short of a two-thirds majority and the upper house adds a second hurdle
Mainstream parties cool on the government's amendment task force
Kantipur's Ekantipur reports (September 20) that constitutional review remains "limited to documents": parties including RSP, Congress, UML and Nepalka committed to review/amendment in their political papers, but a government framework task force's report — and whether it will even be made public — remains in doubt. Constitutional scholar Bipin Adhikari told Kantipur that a national vision should be developed before any amendment proceeds
Lingden calls for "national consensus with the King"
RPP chairman Rajendra Lingden, writing in Nepal Press, urged the country to abandon "the politics of prohibition" and reach a national consensus with the King to find a way out of the current impasse — reinforcing the RPP's monarchist agenda around the amendment debate
Hindu majoritarianism seeping into Nepal — The Diplomat
The Diplomat reported this week that Hindu-Muslim clashes are growing in Nepal as India's brand of Hindu majoritarian politics gains ground — a trend that intersects directly with royalist demands for a restored "Hindu state" alongside the monarchy
Local view
Nepali-language media is focused on the amendment numbers game. In a September 19 interview, task force coordinator Asim Shah (Nepal Japan/Nepal Press) said consensus across parties would resolve the "numbers problem," while acknowledging that two-thirds is one number but "I don't see it as a challenging situation" if amendment is justified properly. Ekantipur's July analysis noted Congress and UML hold equal voting weight to change the constitution, and questioned why amendment-supporting parties distanced themselves from the government task force. Separately, Nagarik News marked the death of RPP House member Gyan Bahadur — the Hamropatro aggregate carried a tribute column ("Deepti Acharya's tears") on September 22. UML central member Pradeep Gyawali, meanwhile, spoke this week on the party, the communist movement and democracy amid speculation of post-election splits within UML
Context & numbers
- House of Representatives: 275 seats, elected March 5, 2026; RSP won 182 seats — two short of a two-thirds majority — followed by Nepali Congress (37) and CPN-UML (25)
- Constitutional amendment requires two-thirds majorities in both chambers per the Supreme Court's directive
- The RPP "advocates for a constitutional monarchy and Hindu nationhood" — a historic seat-holder alongside RSP from the 2022 elections
On the radar
- Whether the government's constitution amendment/review task force report is published, and on what terms — Ekantipur flags the delay itself as a signal
- RPP internal dynamics: an earlier Kantipur report placed RPP "on the verge of another split" between chairman Lingden and general secretary Rana; whether those tensions resurface as RPP plugs the monarchist cause could reshape royalist unity (flagged as prior reporting, watch for updates)
- Nepal's UN General Assembly address this week — a first foreign-policy test for the Balendra Shah government
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