Nepal's King Gyanendra, who seized power in February, said he planned to hold polls in phases to all elected bodies in the revolt-torn nation, but set no dates. The monarch's comments on Friday came more than one month after he unveiled plans to hold elections to 58 municipal assemblies by April 2006. There has been no parliament in Nepal for the past three years and Gyanendra, who drew widespread global flak for his move to fire the government on February 1, rules the impoverished Himalayan nation through an unelected council.
"Necessary preparations have already been initiated to hold these (municipal) elections and activate, in stages, all elected bodies," the 57-year-old king said late on Friday in an address to Nepal's oldest university.
"We call on all political parties having faith in democracy to commit themselves to safeguard democracy from terrorism," Gyanendra said.
Analysts said Gyanendra's latest comments signalled that the municipal elections would mark the start of a phased vote, ultimately leading to national polls.
The king's decision to take power plunged Nepal into political turmoil as he jailed politicians and suspended civil liberties, saying he was acting to control a raging anti-monarchy Maoist insurgency which has killed 12,000 people since 1996.
Strict media censorship was imposed in the aftermath of the take-over, some of which has since been relaxed. In the latest crackdown, a private radio station in Kathmandu said it had been ordered to close.
"We have received an order from the government to close saying we are operating illegally," Gopal Guragain of Communication Corner, an independent radio station, said in a statement on Saturday.
Guragain said his company was registered with authorities and had aired entertainment and social programmes after the government banned news bulletins on dozens of private radio stations four months ago.
"We'll challenge the decision in court," Guragain said.
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