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Nepalis divided over monarchy's future
Nepalis are evenly divided over the future of the monarchy, with nearly half wanting the king to play no role in the Himalayan nation in future, a poll showed yesterday.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 September 23, 2006
Kathmandu: Nepalis are evenly divided over the future of the monarchy, with nearly half wanting the king to play no role in the Himalayan nation in future, a poll showed yesterday.
Nepal's King Gyanendra seized absolute power last year but was forced to hand it back to an interim government in April after weeks of pro-democracy protests.
Since then he has been stripped of most of his remaining powers.
Maoist rebels and some mainstream politicians want Nepal to become a republic, but other political parties argue he should retain a ceremonial role.
A survey of 3,000 people conducted in the month from August 6 showed 48 per cent favoured some form of monarchy, while 49 per cent of respondents said they saw no role for the king.
Massacre
The reputation of the monarchy dived after a royal massacre in 2001, when King Birendra and eight other royals were shot and killed by the crown prince, who then turned his gun on himself.
The government and the Maoist rebels plan to hold elections next year to a new assembly that is supposed to write a new constitution and set out the future of the monarchy.
The poll was conducted in 66 of Nepal's 75 administrative districts by the local office of the US-based National Democratic Institute and market research company AC Nielsen.
The findings also showed that if elections were held today, the centrist Nepali Congress Party and the Communist Party of Nepal-UML would each get 25 per cent of the vote.
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