Nepal election turn-out low
2006-02-08 13:21
Kathmandu - Voters in Nepal cast their ballots under threats of violence on Wednesday in controversial elections that the king promised would be the first step back to democracy in the troubled Himalayan nation.
Turn-out was thin in the first hours of polling amid a general strike called by Maoist rebels, who threatened anyone taking part in Nepal's first national election since 1999.
Newspapers reported that security agencies had been allowed to shoot people disrupting the local elections.
King Gyanendra called the election as part of a "road map to democracy" after he sacked the government and seized absolute power a year ago, promising to quell the 10-year-old rebel insurgency that has claimed 12 500 lives.
But many of his opponents have called the plan a sham and insisted that the elections were a bid to try to legitimise the king's February 2005 power grab.
Wednesday's municipal elections were also faced with a shortage of candidates.
In Kathmandu's historic Durbar Square, voting booths were open, but people casting ballots were few and far between.
In other towns voter turn-out was also low.
Boycott
In Mahendranagar in far West Nepal, turn-out was negligible after a series of blasts shook the main bazaar before polling began.
The rebels joined with opposition parties to call for a boycott of the vote and Maoist rebel leader Prachanda.
Prachanda said: "Our party would like to make a final and special appeal to the general public... to boycott the municipal polls and take the movement for democracy and peace to a new height."
The struggle to topple the monarchy would continue and intensify after the polls, he said.
But in an interview with India's Hindu newspaper published on Wednesday, he said the rebels would be willing to let the monarchy survive if that was accepted by the Nepalese people.
Prachanda, whose Maoist movement has waged a deadly 10-year battle to topple the monarchy, said he was willing to hold talks with the king if Gyanendra conceded that his army-backed coup was "wrong".
"Let us sit across the table, and then (if) he talks of a free and fair election to a constitutional assembly, then we will be ready to take part," said Prachanda.
More than half the 4 146 seats have no candidates, and people have been appointed in 22 of Nepal's 58 municipalities ahead of voting because of a lack of candidates. Wednesday's polling was taking place in only 36 municipalities.
The Maoist rebels are believed to have killed two candidates, thrown bombs at others and killed a strike-breaking taxi driver in an effort to reinforce their anti-poll message.