Maoist Victory

On April 10 2008, Nepal held its first successful general elections. One week later, the results were clear. The Communist Party Nepal-Maoist Party, once an underground political organisation which had its own army (People Liberation Army) and who waged a 10-year-long People's War against the monarchy, won by a clear margin. The victory divided the country. While pro-Maoists painted the town red, those who had suffered under the People's War remained skeptical of the party's conviction to curb their violence and progress the nation.

Sam Kang Li (b.1984) recently graduated from college and is a photographer currently based in Singapore. In 2008, he interned as a photojournalist with Nepal�¢??s most widely read English-language weekly, Nepali Times, covering the country�¢??s transition from a monarchy to a republic and the coming to parliamentary powers by the Maoists. More of his works can be found on www.samkangliphotos.com