Nepal's election
Updated on 08 February 2006
Voters take their chance between the extremes of the widely unpopular King and the madcap Maoist opposition.
A Nepali police officer readjust a polling poster in the capital Kathmandu (Reuters)
>>Watch the report - (Warning: May contain distressing images)
The turnout was more like a trickle - with many voters staying away from Nepal's first municipal election for seven years. Some feared rebel attacks - others boycotted what's been branded a meaningless poll.
The election was called by King Gyanendra in an effort to head off power struggles between the monarchy, political parties and Maoist rebels: struggles which have left thousands dead..
Today at least eight people died in sporadic violence across the country as Maoists clashed with security forces. And one opposition demonstrator was shot dead by police in Dang in the Maoist heartland of Western Nepal.
This report by our Foreign Affairs correspondent Jonathan Miller contains distressing images.
