NEPAL: First Elections

In over a century of service as British mercenaries, Nepal's tough little Gurkhas have won an enviable reputation as cool and tenacious soldiers. Last week the Nepalese showed they had the same kind of staying power politically. After marathon balloting spread over 45 days, Nepal completed the first elections in its history.

The time consumed was not surprising. Only eight years away from feudal tyranny, craggy Nepal is a hodgepodge of Newars, Magars, Limbu, Murmi and Brahmans, sorely lacks paved roads and modern communications. Literacy is so low (6%) that parties were identified on the ballot boxes by pictures. The whole idea of an election, in fact, is so foreign to Nepalese that they have no word for "vote," were obliged to borrow the English.

What was surprising was that, despite these handicaps, Nepal ran smoother elections than many a more advanced nation. More than half the 109 Parliament seats went to the Nepali Congress Party. Communists got only a handful as did the party of Nepal's most colorful politician, anti-American K. I. Singh. Under Nepali Congress Party Leader (and prospective Premier) B. P. Koirala, Nepal will probably keep to the same course it pursued under King Mahendra, who ordered the elections (and will continue to reign as a constitutional monarch). Major difference is that now Nepal's rulers can be confident that they have public approval.