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Violence rocks Nepal ahead of today's polls

Seven Maoists, one protester shot dead

AFP, Kathmandu
Police in Nepal have shot dead seven Maoists and a protester, the party said yesterday, in the worst outbreak of violence ahead of a high-stakes and tense vote on the Himalayan nation's political future.
The Maoists, who are campaigning for Nepal's god-king Gyanendra to be ousted and the monarchy to be immediately abolished after Thursday's elections, were killed during clashes with supporters of a rival party.
But rebel leader Prachanda, who has accused elements of the
security forces of plotting to undermine the elections in order to save the king, made an appeal for calm.
"The need of the hour is to show restraint and have a fair and free election," he said in a statement after meeting with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
"Seven Maoists were killed and 13 injured Tuesday night in police firing," said Balram Yadav, a senior police officer from rural western Dang district.
Police shot at the Maoists after fighting with workers from the rival Nepali Congress spiralled out of control, the officer said.
In other violence, an election
candidate was assassinated late Tuesday in the west of the country; while the capital and the ethnically tense south have been rocked by small bombings.
The polls will mark the climax of a peace process that ended the Maoists' decade-long war, which left at least 13,000 dead, and result in the creation of a 601 -seat assembly that will rewrite the constitu-tion and likely oust King Gyanendra.
But even though the Maoists have put their hardened jungle and mountain fighters into United Nations-monitored camps and signed up for peace, they have been under fire for intimidation of voters.
Maoist leader Prachanda, whose nom-de-guerre means "the fierce one," has also wanted the rotund, dour-faced monarch of "a trial and strong punishment" if he does not go quietly - a sign that peace has not yet truly taken hold.
The leftists also want to see the back of Crown Prince Paras, loathed for his playboy lifestyle in one of the world's poorest countries.
In principle, the new constituent assembly will boot out Gyanendra, who took the throne in 2001 after most ofthe royals were shot dead by a drunken, stoned and suicidal prince.
Some mainstream politicians competing against the Maoists, however, are sympathetic to the idea of keeping some form of symbolic monarch so as to guard the neutrality of a country wedged between Asian giants India and China.
With no single party likely to win a majority, the post-vote period could herald more unrest, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has warned.
"Nepal has many possible flashpoints, not least that the two armies that fought the war remain intact, politically uncompromising and combat-ready,” the Brusselsbased think tank said, referring to the Maoists and the pro-royal national army.
"The post-poll period will likely be difficult and dangerous. The behaviour of powerful losers will shape the immediate aftermath. Some, in particular the Maoists, may even be tempted to reject the entire election, ” the ICG said.
Campaigning has been marred by reports of intimidation by Maoist loyalists, many of whom have failed to adapt to civil life after years spent ambushing and bombing their way tothecapital.
This has left the UN trying to reassure the Nepalese people, for whom democracy has been an all too rare event given the years of turbulence on the roof of the world, that the ballot will be secret.
The polls will be the most watched in Nepal’s history -- with hundreds of international observers in the country. Security has also been stepped up, with precautions in place, including a ban on alcohol sales.
Nepal's main parties, the centrist Nepali Congress and the centre-left Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), are expected to grab most seats.
Analysts say the big question is whether the poll outcome gives the Maoists - still listed by the United States as a foreign "terrorist" organisation — enough political clout to motivate them to stay within the democratic system.