University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Himalayan Research Papers Archive Nepal Study Center 10-9-2008 Bullets, Ballots and Bounty: Maoist Victory in the Twenty-first Century, Nepal Mahendra Lawoti Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nsc_research Recommended Citation Lawoti, Mahendra. "Bullets, Ballots and Bounty: Maoist Victory in the Twenty-first Century, Nepal." (2008). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nsc_research/21 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Nepal Study Center at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Himalayan Research Papers Archive by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Bullets, Ballots and Bounty: Maoist Victory in the Twenty-first Century, Nepal The Third Annual Himalayan Policy Research Conference, Madison (October 16, 2008) Mahendra Lawoti, Ph.D.1 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Western Michigan University President, the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies A shorter Nepali translation was published in Himal Khabarpatrika, April 28-May 13, 2008 INTRODUCTION The Maoist electoral victory in Nepal in April 2008 surprised and shocked not only the competing political parties but also the national and international commentators and the Maoists as well. The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), which had waged a decade long violent rebellion, received two times more seats than their nearest rival in the election for the 601 member Constituent Assembly.2 Under the first past the post (FPTP) election for 240 members, the Maoists won 120 seats - more seats than rest of the fifty-three competing parties collectively.