Maoists want deferral of Nepali election
Even as Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala pledged that the twice-deferred critical election would be held without fail in November, Maoist guerrillas said the polls should be put off till next year as they had been "backstabbed" by the political parties.
With less than three months left for the November 22 constituent assembly election, Maoist chief Prachanda has proposed that the exercise be now held in April 2008 so that it would be "real" instead of being a mockery it would be if held this year.
Speaking at a public programme here on Friday, Prachanda finally put into words what Nepali analysts and political leaders had been fearing all along that the Maoists are fearful of doing badly at the polls due to the militant activities of their trade, youth and student wings, and so are trying to buy time.
An internal poll conducted by one of the leading parties in the coalition government, the Communist party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, reportedly predicts that the rebels would not muster more than 10 percent votes due to their growing unpopularity.
The recently concluded meeting of Maoist representatives also indicates mounting differences in the party and dissatisfaction with the current leadership.
Prachanda, however, is defending his proposal to defer the election on the ground that with hundreds of supporters missing since the start of their "People's War" and their families facing hardships, it would be inhuman to ask them for votes instead of rehabilitating them first.
He is also demanding a round table conference with the representatives of the various groups currently holding separate protest movements so that the disputes are addressed before the election.
Finally, the rebels are also urging the government to abolish monarchy before the election, alleging that the polls would not be free and fair as long as King Gyanendra held a vestige of power.
Nepal's Maoist leader said Friday the former rebels planned to launch protests next month to push for the immediate ouster of King Gyanendra before crucial polls set for November.
The former guerrillas, now in government after signing a landmark peace deal last year with mainstream political parties, had agreed to wait until after the polls that will decide whether the country becomes a republic.
But Maoist leader Prachanda said they now want Gyanendra to go right away.
"To push for a republic, it's imperative to launch protests from inside government, in parliament and on the streets," Prachanda told business leaders, human rights activists and journalists at a meeting organised by the party.
The Maoist proposal comes as Nepal's major donors, including India, the European Union and US, said the government would lose its credibility if the elections were postponed yet again.
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