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Nepal Election: Will Maoists Gain Power?

November 23, 2013 | Pulitzer Center
By
Anup Kaphle, for the Pulitzer Center

On a busy market in New Road, Kathmandu, a street vendor sells varieties of chili peppers on the backdrop of a line of campaign posters for the Maoist party. While Maoists held the most seats in Nepal’s last constituent assembly elections in 2008, they lacked a majority and were unable to cobble together a governing coalition and reach an agreement on what the new constitution would look like. Image by Anup Kaphle. Nepal, 2013.

Nepal's Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, speaks at a rally in Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Raising his fist in the air, Prachanda greeted the attendants of the rally with a revolutionary salute and spoke of policies and reforms brought in favor of the farmers and poor during the nine months the Maoists were in government. He quickly reminded his audience that the biggest hurdle was not having a majority. Image by Anup Kaphle. Nepal, 2013.

Female police officers find some time to chat on the verandah of a temple at Hanuman Dhoka, an old palace square in Kathmandu, on November 15, 2013. Following the decision to abolish the monarchy in 2008, Nepal became one of the youngest republics. Since then, its challenge has been to figure out how to create a government structure to incorporate the diverse population. Image by Anup Kaphle. Nepal, 2013.

Kopila Dhital, 24, sells peanuts to a customer from her street cart at a busy intersection in Naya Baneshwor, Kathmandu,. Dhital said she voted for the Maoists in the last election five years ago, but she is unhappy because they did nothing to uplift the lives of the poor. She said she would not be voting for the Maoists this year. Image by Anup Kaphle. Nepal, 2013.

A political cadre working for the Maoists puts up posters of Hisila Yami, former first lady and candidate from one of the constituencies in Kathmandu, in the Naya Bazaar. Last week, when Yami went to Tindhare, her constituency in Kathmandu, locals expressed outrage over her inattention to issues like roads, drinking water and sewage management. The following day, local newspapers published a photo of her holding both her ears, apologizing to her voters. Image by Anup Kaphle. Nepal, 2013.

Since Nepal abolished the monarchy in 2008, this country of 27 million has struggled to figure out how to create a government structure that would incorporate the diverse population. On Nov. 19, 12 million voters are expected to turn out for an election of a new constituent assembly—tasked with writing a new constitution and ending the political drift.