ABSTRACT
In February 1959 King Mahendra promulgated Nepal's first Constitution, providing for a bicameral parliament, including a popularly elected lower house. Elections held later that month resulted in victory for the NCP, led by Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, who became Prime Minister. In May 1986 about 64% of the electorate voted in a general election, despite a boycott of the polls by the NCP and the pro-China faction of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN). All the candidates in the election were nominally independents, but it was reported that among the 72 new entrants to the Rashtriya Panchayat were at least 16 members of Marxist-Leninist faction of the CPN. In February 2005 King Gyanendra abruptly dismissed Prime Minister Deuba and his Government, declared an indefinite state of emergency and announced that, henceforth, he would rule Nepal directly. All communications links into and out of Nepal were severed temporarily, censorship was imposed on the media and former ministers were placed under house arrest.
