Editorial
After the elections in Nepal
The new assembly has a critical job before it
FOR a nation yet to get acclimatised to substantive democracy, Nepal appears to have been doing reasonably well for itself. The elections last Thursday, for which votes are still being counted, drew as many as 60 per cent of the electorate to the polling stations. There have, of course, been instances of pre-election violence, but they have been minimal. The dire predictions earlier made by many about a disruption in the voting have been belied. And yet it becomes the responsibility of all parties taking part in the elections to ensure that the results are respected and upheld.
As this leader is being written, vote counting in 102 of the altogether 601 constituencies show an early lead for the Maoists led by their leader Prachanda. They dominate the outcome in 56 constituencies. Obviously, it is encouraging for them as also for their supporters. But there are all the other constituencies that remain and the general expectation is that it will be a close election. The Nepali Congress led by GP Koirala and the Communist Party of Nepal remain the other two big stakeholders in the elections. If nothing goes awry, these two parties should be doing well. The picture that might finally emerge is one of a fine balance being struck between the parties in the new assembly. And the task before the assembly is critical, if not exactly monumental. It will have the country transit from a Hindu kingdom to a republic. That of course means bringing the monarchy to an end. If there is one point that unites Nepalese by and large, it is the realisation that King Gyanendra and the dynasty he represents today need to make way for a new political order.
We wish the people of Nepal well as they move toward a more substantive form of democracy. Indeed, it is uncharted territory they will soon inhabit. After a decade-long conflict caused by the Maoist insurgency, which left 13,000 people killed, Nepal is in real need of peace and good government.
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