Story Assignment: Political Analysis on Nepalese Elections

Institute for Public Accuracy
915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Maoist Victory in Nepal

Interviews Available

AFP is reporting: "Nepal's Maoists, on track for victory in landmark elections, on Wednesday called on the country's embattled king to step down 'gracefully' or else face a humiliating eviction from his palace. "The call came as the former rebels maintained a strong lead in the count from last Thursday's vote on the impoverished country's political future.

"The Maoists so far look set to dominate a 601-seat assembly that will rewrite Nepal's constitution, and have said their first act will be to sack King Gyanendra and abolish his 240-year-old monarchy."

MARY DES CHENE, [in Nepal, nearly 10 hours ahead of U.S. ET] mdeschen@artsci.wustl.edu
Mary Des Chene is an anthropologist and editor of the journal Studies in Nepali History and Society. She is fluent in Nepali and has been conducting research in Nepal for more than two decades. She was interviewed Wednesday on Democracy Now! www.democracynow.org

PRAMOD PARAJULI, pramodp@pdx.edu,
http://www.piiecl.pdx.edu/community_partners/pramod_bio.htm
Professor at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon,
Parajuli was born and raised in Nepal. He is founding executive director of the
Portland International Initiative for Leadership in Ecology, Culture
and Learning.
Parajuli said today: "I was last in Nepal at the end of 2006 and
met with those who will be in the new leadership. The U.S. government
should immediately withdraw its designation of the Maoists as 'terrorists' and
graciously welcome the people's verdict. ... It is natural that the
elites of Nepal are completely shocked and aghast at the new developments; the political class and the media expected the Maoists to come in third. ...
"This victory is partly a vote for the Maoists -- many think they
will do something good -- but it's largely a vote away from the other
parties, for they failed to meet raising expectations of the masses or
make any dent on the very entrenched unequal and unjust structure of
the Nepalese state. ..."