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Nepal's king set to fall as nation votes
2008-04-09
Nepal Thursday began voting in elections to decide its political future, marking the climax of a peace process with Maoist rebels, and signalling the likely end of its centuries-old monarchy. Tensions were high in the impoverished nation, with the last days of campaigning hit by deadly violence, complaints of voter intimidation and concerns that embattled King Gyanendra's loyalists may plot a fightback. Voting began at 0700 (0115 GMT) and ends at 1700 (1115 GMT), but the results of the polls will not be known for at least three weeks, election officials said. Maoist leader Prachanda was greeted with flower garlands and cheering crowds when he voted in Chitwan district, 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the capital Kathmandu, soon after polls opened, an AFP reporter at the scene said. "The dreams of thousands of our martyrs have come true," Prachanda told AFP after casting his vote. "We are making new history for Nepal and it is fantastic," said the charismatic former guerrilla fighter. The polls are to elect a 601-seat assembly that is supposed to formally abolish the monarchy in its first meeting, and write a new constitution. The elections are a key demand of Nepal's Maoists, who fought the central government for a decade in an insurgency that left at least 13,000 people dead and crippled the economy of one of the poorest places on Earth. On the eve of the polls, Prachanda called for calm after several of his loyalists were shot dead by police. But the Maoists themselves are under scrutiny: although they have formally renounced violence, reports of voter intimidation suggested many have failed to adapt to civilian life after their bloody guerrilla war. Also being watched is sidelined Gyanendra, who assumed the throne in 2001 after much-loved former king Birendra and most of the rest of the family were massacred by a drunk and stoned crown prince. Gyanendra's survival of the "palace massacre" has led many Nepalis to believe he was somehow complicit. He lost further support when he dismissed the government and assumed absolute power to fight the Maoists -- a move that eventually brought mainstream parties and the rebels together in the 2006 peace pact. But he can still count on support from sections of the army and Hindu fundamentalists who see him as the incarnation of a Hindu god. The polls will be the most closely watched in the Himalayan country's history. The United Nations will be monitoring across the nation, plus keeping an eye on thousands of hardened Maoist fighters who have been confined to camps for the past year under the peace deal. UN chief Ban Ki-moon issued a statement urging all parties to "exercise restraint and remain calm while cooperating to allow this election to take place in a peaceful atmosphere." The European Union has sent a team of election observers, and former US President Jimmy Carter is also in Kathmandu, heading his own team of observers. Large numbers of police have been mobilised nationwide, and even alcohol has been banned in an effort to keep the polls peaceful. Nepal's election commission said it was confident of smooth proceedings. "There is an overwhelming enthusiasm for the election. We are expecting a turnout of over 65 per cent," commission head Bhojraj Pokhrel told reporters. Close to 18 million people are eligible to vote, one third of them for the first time. Nepal's main parties, the centrist Nepali Congress and the centre-left Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), are expected to grab most of the seats. The big question, say analysts, is whether the outcome gives the Maoists -- still classed by Washington as a "terrorist" organisation -- enough political clout to motivate them to stay within the democratic system. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group has warned the period after the polls "will likely be difficult and dangerous." "Nepal has many possible flashpoints, not least that the two armies that fought the war remain intact, politically uncompromising and combat-ready," the think-tank said, referring to the Maoists and the pro-royal national army.
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