Images of King’s Municipal Election

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Election in Nepal: Burning Tires To Protest The Poll

They Don’t Want Election: Pro-democracy students burnt tires to protest the king’s Municipal Polls in Dilli Bazaar, Kathmandu. Pic by Bikash Karki

General Goes To Cast His Vote: Royal Nepal Army Chief Parajung Thapa gets out his vehicle and heads toward a voting booth in Pashupati Campus to cast his vote in the municipal election. Pic by Shaligram Tiwari

General Is Looking For His Name: Royal Nepal Army Chief Parajung Thapa looks at the voters’ list as his family members look on in a voting booth at Pashupati Campus. Pic by Shaligram Tiwari

No Voters: A voting booth at the Agriculture Company Ltd., Kuleshwor at 9:30 AM. It was almost empty and very few people turned up to cast their vote. Pic by Shaligram Tiwari

A Marriage Not To Be Forgotten Easily: Two newly married couples return back home from Ghujeshwori Temple after participating in marriage ceremonies at Dhumbarahi. The city transportation was closed both on rebel Maoists orders for Nepal Banda (general strike) and the government’s ban on driving for the Election Day. Pic by Shruti Shrestha

No Election: Pro-democracy activists protest the municipal election in Thimi, Bhaktapur saying that the king wanted to hold the poll to legitimize his autocracy. Political parties have called for election boycott. Pic by Shruti Shrestha

First Democracy, Then Election: Founding president of the Ilam branch of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) shouts slogans from inside a police van after being arrested for taking out a pro-democracy rally in Ilam headquarters. Pic by Benup Raj Bhattarai

Police highhandedness in Kalaiya, Bara district in a demonstration. Pic by Shankar Acharya

Police arrested 12 people from a pro-democracy demo by seven agitating political parties. Armed police intervened into the rally immediately after it was started. But the participants took out torchlight rallies from different parts of the town. Police beat Gopal Dewanaj, secretary of the Sunsari district branch of Nepal Jana jaati Mahashangh. Pic by Raju Ghishing

We Don’t Need Election: Activists associated with seven agitating political parties took out rallies protesting municipal polls in Biratnagar. About 1 hundred and 37 activists were arrested by police on Wednesday. Pic by Arjun Pokharel

Voting For Democracy? After the municipal candidates spread a rumor about army taking action against anyone who fail to go to voting booths to caste their vote (and an award of Rs. 1 thousand for those who cast their vote), people thronged into the voting booths of Dailekh’s Narayan Nagar Municipality. But many of them said that they have cancelled their ballot paper by casting their votes to their favorite agitating pro-democracy political parties. Pic by Harihar Singh Rathour

No Election!: Agitating students stage a protest program against the municipal election at Dhilibazar, Kathmandu. Pic by Bikash Karki