Nepal's caretaker premier Sher Bahadur Deuba said today the elections that will be held two years ahead of schedule were a litmus test on the country's determination to fight Maoist rebels.
The beleaguered prime minister said the November 13th election, criticised both by the opposition and within his own party, was "a kind of referendum to choose between peace and terrorism".
"In the US, UK and other countries, all the political parties are united on combatting terrorism. It is only in Nepal, I'm sorry to say, that our own party leaders are divided on the issue," Mr Deuba told reporters.
King Gyanendra dissolved parliament on May 22nd on Mr Deuba's recommendation as it looked set to defeat an extension of the state of emergency, imposed in November to combat an increasingly violent Maoist insurgency.
Deuba has vowed to crush the Maoists by force, angered that the Maoists broke a ceasefire he reached with them after taking power in July.
More than 4,200 people have died since the Maoists launched their "people's war" in 1996 to topple the constitutional monarchy, according to the official count.
State radio said five soldiers died last night when Maoists ambushed a patrol in the Salyan district, some 280 kilometers west of the capital Kathmandu.
AFP