Maoist Rebels Call Strike in Attempt to Foil Nepalese Elections

From the Washington Post:

Barely a year after seizing absolute power, King Gyanendra is a monarch under siege -- shunned by former allies, struggling to contain a raging Maoist insurgency and confronting a new alliance between the rebels and mainstream political parties that dismiss his plans for restoring democracy as a farce.
The parties are boycotting municipal elections scheduled for Wednesday, a step that in combination with Maoist threats has ensured that most of 4,000-plus local seats will not even be contested. The Maoists are also enforcing a week-long general strike that has paralyzed normal life in cities and towns throughout the country.


Click here to read the article.

For a previous post on Nepal and more information on the situation there, click here.

Update, 02/08/06: Turnout Appears Low in Vote in Nepal from the Washington Post.

--Tom Hayes