KATMANDU, Nepal — Puskar Bhandari has spent nearly his entire life living under the rule of an all-powerful king, the last decade haunted by violence.
Along with tens of thousands of Nepalis who flocked to polls yesterday, he cast a vote to form a government that may spell the end of the monarchy and help cement a transition from war to durable peace in this tiny Himalayan country.
“Last night, I had a dream it will get better here,” the 75-year-old security guard said, holding his 2-year-old granddaughter on his shoulders. “I never thought I’d see this day.”
The historic vote to elect a 601-member assembly that will draw up a constitution and serve as the governing body in the near term was largely peaceful, the election commission said, although it confirmed that at least two people were killed in separate incidents.
Bhojraj Pokhrel, head of the election commission, hailed the vote as a success, saying the people of Nepal had “set an example for the world” — an assessment that was echoed by the United Nations and international observers on hand.
They included former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who led an American team on a daylong tour of voting stations around the Katmandu Valley.
The fair elections are the climax of the 2006 peace deal that ended the Maoist insurgency, a brutal decadelong war that killed at least 13,000 people.
Voter turnout was estimated at about 60 percent, Mr. Pokhrel told reporters.
More than 135,000 police were deployed across the country to uphold law and order as authorities tried to prevent an escalation of the killings, bombings and voter intimidation that marked the campaign season. Bans on driving and the sale of alcohol were among the last-minute security measures.
One activist was killed in the southern district of Sunsari after clashes between activists from the Nepali Congress Party and supporters of a political party representing southern residents known as Madhesis or Mahadhesis, Agence France-Presse reported. The second death was of an independent candidate who was shot in Sarlahi district, officials said.
After polling ended, a third person was killed in a fight between opposing political supporters in Mahottari district, the interior ministry said.
In the central village of Galkot, Maoists tried to take over a polling station and then torched the building after scuffling with police and election officials, a regional official said.
Clashes between activists of various parties and malpractice forced suspension of voting at 33 polling stations, according to the election commission.
Final results will not be known for several weeks, officials said.
This was still far better than the mayhem some predicted, prompting fears that elections may have to be postponed for a third time.
Most of Nepal’s 17.6 million voters turned out to elect 240 members through a first-past-the-post electoral system, or one person per constituency, and another 335 candidates through the proportional electoral system. Another 26 lawmakers will be nominated to the 601-member assembly by the interim council of ministers.
In capital Katmandu, residents lined up before dawn at voting stations. The process was exceptionally smooth, overseen by an army of local and international observers. By the early afternoon, the lines were almost deserted.
But despite the relative calm on election day, observers are concerned over potential unrest during the wait for results, or if one of the three major parties does not accept the results and use them as a pretext to cause trouble.
“The post-poll period will likely be difficult and dangerous,” the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank that monitors security issues, said in a report. “Parties will trade allegations of fraud and violence. The behavior of powerful losers will shape the immediate aftermath.”
The commitment of the Maoists, in particular, to embrace democracy has been questioned. Earlier this week, the party warned it could take up arms again if they felt cheated in the elections.
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, was upbeat after casting his vote in Chitwan district 60 miles southwest of the capital, and affirmed the discipline of his rebel force, whose 20,000 foot-soldiers are confined to U.N.-monitored camps in the countryside.
“The dreams of thousands of our martyrs have come true,” Prachanda told Agence France-Presse. “We are making new history for Nepal and it is fantastic.”
But after a decade of fighting in the back country, he is under great pressure to deliver concrete steps to supporters, many of whom must now make the transition into civilian life.
The Maoists are still classified by the U.S. State Department as a “terrorist” organization.
Nepal’s mainstream parties, the centrist Nepali Congress and the center-left Communist Party of Nepal (UML), are poised to win most of the assembly seats up for grabs, but they will have to work closely with the Maoists to build a stable government that can write a constitution and revive a crippled economy.
One of the assembly’s first tasks will be to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy helmed by King Gyanendra, who made a rare public statement on Wednesday, calling on “all adult citizens to exercise their democratic right in a free and fair environment.”
The king took the throne in 2001 after the popular former King Birendra and much of the royal family were massacred by a drunken crown prince. His support base is limited to parts of the army and Hindu fundamentalists who view him as the incarnation of a Hindu god.
His attempts at seizing absolute power, coupled with the massive inequalities that persist in the country, have sunk his popularity.
“We don’t want a king anymore; it’s time for him to go,” said Arjun Nepal, a Maoist youth volunteer who spent the afternoon handing out free water in Katmandu’s Durbar Square. “Only a new party will bring change, a real people’s party.”
In the shadow of a wooden temple nearby, Bhikkhu Sushil, a Buddhist monk, wore a broad smile waiting in line almost an hour to stuff his pink ballot into the box.
“King or no king, this is a huge step for our people,” he said.
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