KATHMANDU, May 1: Political party workers and cadres are rushing to get party tickets to contest the forthcoming local polls in most areas of Nepal, but in parts of western Nepal where extreme Left Maoists hold sway none dare come out to stand for elections.

Elections to village development committees and municipalities are scheduled to be held in two phases on May 17 and 26 and are considered to be essential to enable democracy to take root in the Himalayan kingdom.

There are 3,912 village development committees and 58 municipalities in the country with a voting population of over 12 million.

But the Nepali-language daily Kantipur reported from Jajarkot in far western Nepal that political party workers have been avoiding contesting the elections because of Maoist threats. The Maoists, waging a ``peoples war'' in far western Nepal since February last year, have called for boycotting the elections.

The Maoist insurgency is at its height in the far western Nepalese districts of Jajarkot, Rukum, Rolpa and Pyuthan, all located about 400 km west of Kathmandu. Local elections in far western Nepal are due on May 17 but because of the fear of the Maoists, there is virtually no campaigning taking place in Maoist ``peoples war'' affected areas, the newspaper said.

The newspaper also reported that, in these areas, those who have been given party tickets to contest the elections have been returning them.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.