Editorial
Elections in Nepal
It is chance for a new beginning
THE warning served by the United Nations on the political situation in Nepal reflects the growing sense of unease as the kingdom prepares to go to the polls on Thursday. Indeed, matters should not have come to a pass where the world body would need to ask Nepal's political parties to refrain from resorting to violence in the run-up to the voting. By all accounts, the elections should have been peaceful (they still can be that). But going by how the Maoists, now part of mainstream politics, have been conducting their campaign, there is today serious concern about the way the voting will turn out. The bombings as well as killings that have occurred in the past few days can only underscore the gravity of the situation.
It is not just in Nepal's but in the world's interest as well that the elections, called with the specific purpose of rewriting the country's constitution, be held peacefully. The significance of the elections is also to be noticed in the fact that the future of the monarchy depends on the results of the voting. The Maoists as well as the traditional political parties have more or less arrived at a consensus about the need for the monarchy to go. Given that King Gyanendra has had a hand in the making of the crisis he now finds himself in, such a condition was only to be expected. But while all this endeavour towards creating a new Nepal goes on, it makes sense to argue that the Maoists and everyone else stay away from doing anything that can only give rise to new fears among the people of Nepal. The alleged threats held out by the Maoists to voters over the way the latter should cast their votes can only increase worries about the future of a democratic Nepal.
The people of Nepal have struggled long and hard for democracy. It is now for their politicians, including former communist rebels, to ensure that democracy becomes part of life in all its substantive form.
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