After a decade-long struggle against the ruling monarchy, the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist (CPN-M) finally won the approval of the Nepalese people in their nation’s April 2008 elections. The Maoists’ victory brought an overwhelming sense of hope to Nepal, but it also amplified the degree of uncertainty in a country with many problems. Though Prachanda, the chairman of CPN-M, officially took over as Prime Minister in August 2008, he has yet to tackle any major issues. In order to succeed, he and his government will need to focus more on the task of securing basic social and economic freedoms for the Nepalese people. If the government does not take quick and decisive action, the Nepalese people may lose patience and discard the government altogether.

Dissatisfied with mainstream politics, the Maoists first went underground in 1996, launching a “People’s War.” A revolt against the monarchy, this campaign hoped to transform the social and economic structure of the country. Ten years later, in 2006, the Maoists solidified their path to power by forming an alliance with mainstream political parties to protest against the dictatorial leadership of King Gyanendra. Massive uprisings ensued, resulting in the king’s capitulation and the Maoists’ re-entry into mainstream politics.

Since then, the Maoists’ quick rise to power has drawn mixed responses. While some regard their win in the elections as surprisingly impressive, others feel they manipulated the elections by threatening rural peasants. However, given the presence of international observers during the elections and the lack of evidence that they were rigged, the rest of the world has generally accepted the Maoists’ win as legitimate. This endorsement has been followed by massive expectations that the Maoist-led government will drastically change the face of the country through a rapid socio-economic transformation.

Many serious social and economic challenges currently face Nepal. Recent economic indicators suggest sustained economic growth of about 3 percent, but the real situation is actually much worse. Due to recent record high food and commodity prices, thousands of rural peasants have difficulty earning enough money to eat two meals per day. Families without a reliable source of income are literally struggling to live. Furthermore, the government is on the verge of declaring an energy crisis in the country. Due to shortages, the Nepalese people currently have access to electricity for only fourteen hours each day, an amount which will likely decrease to eight hours in the next few months. Suffering from all of these problems, the Nepalese people are looking to their new government for solutions. The Maoists’ response may be critical to their political future.

The Maoists may attribute the current socio-economic scenario to past governments or may simply shrug it off as the legacy of the monarchy. But that does not explain why they have not made significant progress in dealing with the problems. If the government truly wants to improve the lives of its people, it likely will have to develop more targeted policies. Farmers, who compose the majority of the population, especially need government assistance during these hard economic times. By improving access to irrigation facilities and modern fertilizers as well as minimizing flood-related risks, the Maoist government can help farmers increase agricultural productivity. Not only will such reforms directly improve the lives of Nepalese farmers and their families, but they will also help reinvigorate the Nepalese economy. Additionally, in the absence of adequate electricity, more efforts should be made to ensure that basic commodities are available at a reasonable cost. Without the government enacting visible reforms such as these, the Nepalese people are apt to grow more and more pessimistic. They may eventually lose their faith in the Maoists and vote them out of the government as quickly as they brought them in.

Instead of dealing with these domestic issues, the Maoist leadership has put considerable time and effort into establishing legitimacy in the outside world. Attempting to re-invent their nation’s image, government officials made numerous diplomatic visits during their first few months in power. While Nepal’s international reputation is important because the nation benefits from huge amounts of foreign assistance, it cannot be the ultimate priority of the government, coming at the expense of the domestic agenda. The government can address its problems at home without compromising its foreign relations. In fact, foreign aid donor countries would likely be happy to see the Nepalese government focusing more on domestic issues rather than on matters of international interest.

It took the Maoists ten years and more than fifteen thousand lives to come to power. But the Nepalese people have finally given them a chance. In order to maintain their newfound command, they must be able to earn and retain credibility among their own constituents. They will succeed only if they can secure basic social and economic freedoms for the Nepalese people. The Maoists have frequently talked about the transformation of Nepalese society. It is time for them to transform their talk into action before the political capital gained by their election victory is diminished.