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Nepal Set to Abolish 240-Year-Old Monarchy

Posted Apr 10, 08 8:52 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Voting is under way in Nepal's parliamentary elections, where citizens of the Himalayan nation are expected to endorse parties that will oust the 240-year-old monarchy, reports AFP. UN observers have commended a high turnout despite eight deaths in protests ahead of today's polling, the centerpiece of a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream political parties.

No fewer than 54 political parties are contesting today's elections, but the large majority of them are republicans. The current king, who ascended the throne after the 2001 murder of his brother, is deeply unpopular in Nepal and expects to be deposed. Jimmy Carter, who is in Kathmandu as an election observer, called today's vote a "revolutionary election" that will "open up the political process to formerly marginalized people."

Sources AFP, Bloomberg

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Nepalese women queue up outside a polling station to cast their votes in Janakpur, Nepal, Thursday, April 10, 2008, for an assembly that will rewrite its constitution.   (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Nepalis line up to vote Thursday April 10, 2008, in Patan, Nepal. Nepalis voted Thursday in a historic election intended to bring communist insurgents into the country's democratic mainstream and expected...   (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
A Nepalese man casts his vote in a historic election Thursday April 10, 2008, in Patan, Nepal. The election is intended to bring communist insurgents into the country's mainstream and end a monarchy.   (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
Nepalis enter a polling site to vote in a historic election Thursday April 10, 2008, in Patan, Nepal. Nepalis voted Thursday in a historic election intended to bring communist insurgents into the country's...   (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
Nepalis line up to vote at a polling station near a temple Thursday April 10, 2008, in Patan, Nepal. Nepalis voted Thursday in a historic election intended to bring communist insurgents into the country's...   (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
Former communist rebels, confined at a camp under the supervision of the United Nations as part of a peace deal, stand in a queue to cast their votes, as Nepalese policemen, wearing blue, stand guard.   (AP Photo/Bhojraj Bhat)
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democracy  • Jimmy Carter  • Nepal  • monarchy  • Nepalese elections  • Maoists  • Gyanendra


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