In Nepal, monarchy makes way for democracy

Gyanendra's dynasty dates to 1769, when a regional ruler conquered Katmandu and united Nepal.

The mystique of the royal line he founded was pierced in 2001 by a palace bloodbath in which a gunman, allegedly the crown prince, gunned down late King Birendra and much of the royal family before killing himself. Gyanendra, the dead king's older brother, then took the throne.

Four years later, with armed rebellion raging in the countryside, he dismissed an elected government and vowed to crush the Maoist rebellion himself.

He failed, and his popularity plummeted. By April 2006, widespread unrest had forced the king to restore democracy.

'He may live as common citizen'
Soon after, the Maoists ended their fight. And last year, in a deal that paved the way for Thursday's elections, they agreed with Nepal's major political parties that after the vote no man should wear the bejeweled Nepalese crown of yak hair and peacock feathers.

What happens to Gyanendra afterward is undecided. The leader of the Maoists, known by his nom de guerre, Prachanda, told The Associated Press that "he may live as a common citizen."

"But if he wants to resist the verdict of the masses," he said, "then I think he will be on trial and he will be punished."

So Gyanendra sits in his palace, a salmon-hued concrete 1970s monstrosity that dominates the capital's center, hoping time will work in his favor.

"I think we all believe, we hope, that they" — the politicians — "will not be able to agree," said Kamal Thapa, a cabinet minister under the king and now leader of the main royalist party.

"I know the king certainly believes that he will still be the king next year, and the year after," Thapa said. "Maybe he knows something we don't."

Critics, major politicians among them, say the king does know a few things, such as who is behind a handful of small bombings in the past year and protests in Nepal's southern Terai region that have already forced two delays in the vote. The palace denies the king is behind them.

Even the few die-hard royalists who are willing to speak up are beginning to wonder if a neutered monarchy is worth keeping.

"If the politicians are going to heap only abuse on our king, why should he stay?" asked Ravi Shrestra, a 38-year-old engineer. "What will happen next? Will they make him ride the bus?"

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