Nepal's Maoist leader says they will not accept the results of the recent election in which his party trails in vote counting.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, demanded authorities immediately stop counting ballots cast in Tuesday's election, which reportedly saw the former rebel leader lose one of the two seats he was contesting.
In a press conference Thursday, the Maoist leader said the party had reports of ballot boxes being taken, hidden away and switched.
Nepal's election commission has rejected the request saying counting will resume, despite the allegations. Preliminary results are expected Friday, but the full counting is expected to take weeks.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who is in Nepal to monitor the polls, said he was disappointed to hear of the Maoists rejection. He says he hopes the Maoists will react peacefully and to file their complaints in an orderly way.
The Maoists, whose decade-long rebellion resulted in the overthrown of Nepal's monarchy, emerged as the frontrunners in the country's last election in 2008. But early results from this week's vote showed them trailing behind the centrist Nepali Congress and the United Marxist Leninist Party.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, demanded authorities immediately stop counting ballots cast in Tuesday's election, which reportedly saw the former rebel leader lose one of the two seats he was contesting.
In a press conference Thursday, the Maoist leader said the party had reports of ballot boxes being taken, hidden away and switched.
Nepal's election commission has rejected the request saying counting will resume, despite the allegations. Preliminary results are expected Friday, but the full counting is expected to take weeks.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who is in Nepal to monitor the polls, said he was disappointed to hear of the Maoists rejection. He says he hopes the Maoists will react peacefully and to file their complaints in an orderly way.
The Maoists, whose decade-long rebellion resulted in the overthrown of Nepal's monarchy, emerged as the frontrunners in the country's last election in 2008. But early results from this week's vote showed them trailing behind the centrist Nepali Congress and the United Marxist Leninist Party.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
