Maoists trumped in Nepal elections. Victory for Congress democrats
Kathmandu ( AsiaNews) - From once the largest party in the country to a small minority : the Maoists of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal ( UCPN -M ) have lost the elections for the Constituent Assembly . According to provisional results, the Congress Party ( Socialist Party and Democrat) won a majority in almost all constituencies , followed by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist , UML ) . The UCPN- M of Pushpakamal Dahal, more commonly known as Prachanda , is struggling to win the third place.
In a press conference, Prachanda
announced they will not accept the result: "A conspiracy was organized against
the Maoists". The
political leader also demanded a halt to the counting of votes , threatening to
boycott the drafting of the new democratic constitution.
Despite
the
violence of recent days, there is an atmosphere of calm in Nepal. Nilkantha
Upreti , President of the Electoral Commission , told AsiaNews that "the elections were conducted in a peaceful
manner , and that's good . We will investigate for errors , but we will not
stop the process and declare the results as soon as the counting of the votes is
complete".
The international community has
lauded the "peaceful conduct of the elections". "The
new Constituent Assembly - said the spokesman for Ban Ki- moon, Secretary General
of the United Nations - will have the historical responsibility of completing a
new constitution, based on the impressive successes thus far, and as a result
promoting national dialogue and genuine reconciliation " .
The
elections took place after five years of political chaos and four coalition
governments, who have continuously postponed the drafting of a democratic
constitution, after centuries of Hindu monarchy .
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