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GUEST: Pramod Parajuli, Professor at Portland State University and founding executive director of the Portland International Initiative for Leadership in Ecology, Culture and Learning

Maoists in Nepal are celebrating a victory that has left everybody including themselves, stunned. The Maoist Communist Party of Nepal won the biggest majority in the the country’s new governing assembly according to an election official yesterday. The election was held in early April with plans for the Assembly to write a new constitution for Nepal. After a decade of armed struggle during which more than 13,000 people died, the Maoist party put down their weapons and signed a peace treaty with the government two years ago as a step toward entering the electoral process. The Maoist Communist Party of Nepal was often accused of committing human rights violations and has been designated a terrorist organization by the US. While the Maoists did not win an absolute majority in the elections, they plan on sweeping changes including abolishing the monarchy that has ruled for centuries, and establishing a republic. They also want to create the position of a president, a job they want for their party’s chair, Prachanda. However, there are no plans to completely reorganize the economy of the country.