The first tasks of the assembly will be to abolish the monarchy and rewrite the constitution [AFP]

In the two days before Thursday's vote, at least eight people, including a communist candidate and several Maoists have been shot dead.
 
There have also seen a string of small bomb attacks in the capital and the ethnically-tense south of the country.

Polling stations open at 7am (0115GMT) and close at 5pm (1115GMT), but the results of the historic polls will not be known for at least three weeks, according to election officials.
 
Prachanda, the Maoist leader, called on his party activists to remain calm during polling.

Restraint urged
 
"The need of the hour is to show restraint and have a fair and free election," he said in a statement after meeting Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal's prime minister.

In depth

Timeline: Nepal's civil war

The assembly's first tasks will to abolish the monarchy and rewrite the constitution.

King Gyanendra, viewed by supporters as the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, the protector, also made a rare public statement.

"We call upon all adult citizens to exercise their democratic right in a free and fair environment," he said.

In the latest death of the campaign, one protester died when police have opened fire on demonstrators angry at the slaying of an election candidate the previous day.

Ram Kumar Khanal, an area police chief, said the police had opened fire with live ammunition in order to disperse protesters who were smashing stores and buses.

Polling postponed

Election officials in Surket district, where Rishi Prasad Sharma, a member of the Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist Leninist, was killed, postponed voting in Thursday's elections.

Nepal

- Tucked in the Himalayas between China and India, Nepal occupies an area of 147,000 sq km, with a population of 26.4 million

- Nearly one-third of its people live on an income of less than a dollar a day

- Eighty per cent of Nepalis are Hindus

- Nepal was the world's last Hindu kingdom, before declaring itself officially secular in 2006

On Tuesday, six former Maoist rebels were shot dead by police during clashes with supporters of the rival Nepali Congress party in Dang district, 300km west of Kathmandu.

Campaigning has also been marred by reports of intimidation by Maoist loyalists, many of whom have failed to adapt to civil life after years spent fighting government forces.

Dutton also reported there would be 136,000 police on the streets during the elections and that travel bans and a ban on the sale of alcohol would also be imposed.

Bhoj Raj Pokhrel, the chief election commissioner, said: "we are all concerned regarding election day violence".

Peaceful atmosphere

The European Union, which has sent a 120-strong election observation team, repeated calls for a violence-free election.

"I call again on all those involved in the election to respect the fundamental right of every Nepali citizen to cast their vote on  April 10 in a peaceful atmosphere without fear of intimidation or violence," Jan Mulder, the chief observer, said.

The elections are the first since a peace deal brought Nepal's Maoists fighters into mainstream politics and ended a decade-long civil war in which at least 13,000 people have died.

The 27 million people of the Himalayan nation between India and China will be hoping that the election can bring peace and prosperity.

"We have no choice but to be hopeful," Biraj Shresthra, a 43-year-old who runs a Kathmandu electronics shop, said. "We've seen so much fighting. Maybe now it will stop."

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: