| Nepal’s Red Dawn |
Democratic dawn in Nepal! Nepalese citizens turned out in lakhs on April 10 to elect a 601-member Constituent Assembly, which decided to draft a new Constitution within two years.
Prior to the elections, Maoist rebels entered into a peace agreement with the government, ending the guerrillas` 10-year insurgency. On April 21, a new chapter in the history of Nepal was written when the Maoists garnered 120 out of 240 directly elected seats.
It was then the time to bid farewell to the 239-year-old monarchy in the Hindu Kingdom. The newly-elected Assembly voted to form a Republic and King Gyanendra stepped down.
While India was celebrating its independence from the British rulers on August 15, its neighbour in the North was witnessing a revolutionary change. The Assembly elected Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, as Prime Minister the very same day.
Maldives
The smallest Islamic country holds the world’s ‘best form of government’ in arms. Setting a great example, Maldivians moved ahead to embrace democracy in October. The first multi-party elections in the Indian Ocean nation ended President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30-year-rule and crowned former political prisoner Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed as the new top leader. The elections, hence, marked a historic milestone in the transition to political pluralism for Asia’s smallest nation as well as flowering of democracy in South Asia. However, there is a lot more than meets the eye. The nation of over 1,100 islands is bracing itself to handle the worst repercussions of climate change.
Bhutan
It’s official! Bhutan is a democratic country now! Positioned high in the Himalayas, Bhutan has transitioned from a century-old absolute monarchy to democracy. The country, which revels in isolation, held its first Parliamentary Elections in March 2008. It`s amazing to note that the country’s road to democracy has been a rather atypical, as it was the former King who pushed a move towards democracy, and not the people. Nestled in the Himalayas between Asia`s giants, India and China, Bhutan is now a democracy with Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley at the helm of the government.
The isolated Himalayan Kingdom also welcomed the crowning of the new King. The 28-year-old, Oxford-educated King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the world`s youngest monarch. He is now the head of the state.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is due to hold general elections on December 29 after being ruled by an Army-backed government for nearly two years. The military-backed caretaker regime came to power in January 2007 following widespread violence, suspended planned Parliamentary Elections due that month, and imposed an indefinite State of Emergency. The regime set reform of the political system and rooting out of corruption as its main targets and promised elections by 2008-end. However, like with any military government the caretaker government in Bangladesh did curb political rights and put democratic principles on the backburner.
But the country is hoping to return to democracy soon, with Emergency all set to be lifted on December 17 in a bid to ensure the elections are free, fair and credible.
Former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia, who have shared power over 15 years to October 2006, were arrested along with hundreds of other politicians during the Emergency Rule for alleged corruption.
Hasina and Khaleda, who lead the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) respectively, are however free now after being held in jail for nearly a year. The military government released the two leaders amid mounting pressure from within the country as well as outside to ensure that their parties, the country`s biggest, contest the elections.
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