Nepal was ruled by monarchs from various dynasties, until 1951 when a parliamentary democracy was established. A decade later, King Mahendra suspended the constitution and banned political parties. His son, King Birendra, retained full control of the country till 1990, when the absolute monarchy was reduced to a constitutional one.
In elections in 1991 and 1999, the centrist Nepali Congress - the country's oldest political party - won a clear majority required to form the government, but did not last its full term either time because of internal and inter-party squabbling. A period of political flux followed. King Birendra and eight other royals were killed in a 2001 palace massacre by his son, Crown Prince Dipendra, who later turned the gun on himself, according to an official inquiry.
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