Nepal Maoists need to convince opposition for power

By Krittivas Mukherjee

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's Maoists, who emerged the single largest party in this month's historic election, now face the hard task of convincing the opposition of their commitment to democracy if they want to forge a coalition government.

The election saw voters dumping traditional parties, giving the Maoists a strong mandate for change, such as sweeping land reform to help farmers in one of the world's poorest nations.

But the Maoists still command a rebel army, have refused to renounce violence and speak of a "people revolt" if they are stopped from taking power, posturing that has unnerved opposition parties about their commitment to democratic ideals.

The Maoists, who have shunned most of their radical communist ideologies for capitalist policies, also say they want both head of the state and government posts.

"The first challenge for the Maoists is to legitimize their move to democracy through their behaviour," said Yubaraj Ghimire, an editor and a political analyst. "The other political parties are scared and are in doubt. They have to be convinced."

As the single largest party, the Maoists, who won 220 seats in a 601-member special assembly are the strongest claimant to lead a coalition.

But the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the second and third largest parties respectively and both centrist parties, want to strike a balance of power.

They want the rebel army and Maoist youth wing disbanded, an easier constitutional provision to remove the head of government to preclude authoritarian rule and an equal share of power.