Ex-communist rebels ahead in Nepal poll
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Former rebels have won control in three out of five constituencies where vote-counting has been completed in an election for Nepal’s Constituent Assembly, the Election Commission said Saturday.
Early results from Thursday’s vote indicated the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) — who ended their 10-year insurgency in 2006 — could also be set to win control in 55 other constituencies where counting was still going on, the commission said.
Of the five constituencies counted by early Saturday, the Maoists had three seats, while the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) each secured one, it said.
A complete count of votes in all 240 constituencies was expected to take several weeks.
The Maoists were already predicting victory in the election for the 601-seat assembly that will be responsible for writing Nepal’s new constitution.
We will get a clear majority in the final results, said Hisila Yami, a senior member of the Maoist party and a minister in the coalition government.
People have chosen us to lead the country, she said. This is a reflection of the people’s desire for a republic that our party has always stood for.
The election has been touted as the cornerstone of the 2006 peace deal struck between the government and the former rebels. The agreement followed months of unrest that forced Nepal’s king to cede absolute power.
Scattered shootings and clashes that killed two people on election day and eight others in the days leading up to the poll did not deter millions of Nepalis from casting ballots in Thursday’s vote in the Himalayan country’s first election in nine years.
None of the 54 parties vying for seats in the assembly is expected to win a landslide, and with 20,000 voting stations spread across the country — some a seven-day walk from the nearest paved road — officials said it could be several weeks before a complete tally is ready.
The Election Commission said there would be re-polling in at least 60 locations because of voting irregularities, and that number could rise as election complaints are investigated. Several candidates have claimed their supporters were barred from voting by rival groups and have complained of election fraud.
Of the 601 Constituent Assembly seats, 240 are directly elected by the population. Another 26 will later be appointed by the government, while the remaining 335 will be allotted to the parties under a proportional representation system.
found here.
