Opposition Strikes Cripple Nepalese Capital

Kathmandu grinds to a halt over calls for November elections to be representative

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Prakash Mathema / AFP/ Getty Images

Nepalese pedestrians walk past closed shops in Kathmandu's main market during a general strike called by opposition parties.

Cars stayed off the roads, schools were closed and shops kept their shutters down in Kathmandu and areas of east Nepal on Thursday as opposition groups went on strike over plans to hold elections in November.

An alliance of more than 30 opposition parties is calling for the Constituent Assembly elections set for Nov. 19 to be canceled. Instead, they want a new administration that is representative of all political parties to carry out the polls.

The elections would be Nepal’s first since the monarchy was abolished in 2008. An interim government led by the Supreme Court chief justice was appointed to conduct the ballot earlier this year.

[Al Jazeera]