From Nepalnews.com: oor show worries the govt., nominations filed for one-third municipal seats only As life remained crippled throughout the country and opposition activists clashed with police to enforce their shutdown strike on Thursday, candidates filed their nominations for around one-third of the seats of 58 municipalities for which elections are taking place. According to preliminary reports, activists belonging to major political parties stayed away from the municipal polls slated on February 8. Those who turned Iup to file nominations despite Maoist threats and protests by the opposition activists were either independents or affiliated to the dissident group of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) led by Home Minister Kamal Thapa, minister in the royal cabinet Nepal Samata Party led by minister Narayan Singh Pun and Nepal Sadbhavana Party led by minister Badri Prasad Mandal. Five people have filed their nominations for the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolis while three for deputy Mayor. Those vying for the post of Mayor include Rajaram Shrestha of RPP (Thapa), Prachanda Lal Shrestha of Save The Nation, Uttam Adhikari of Rastriya Jana Rajya Parishad, Dhan Bahadur of Nepal Samata Party and independent candidate Shanta Chitrakar. In Lalitpur, Madhu Shah of Nepal Samata Party and Shambhu Gajurel of Nepal Swatantra Party signed up for Mayor while Juddha Bahadur Thapa filed his candidacy for deputy mayor. Reports from outside the capital say very few candidates have filed their nominations for various posts of the municipalities. In eastern town of Biratnagar, 12 candidates have filed their nominations for the post of Mayor while ten candidates are vying for the post of Deputy Mayor. Over 200 people have filed their nominations for various posts. Concerns related to personal safety in the aftermath of the killing of a probable Mayoral candidate, Bijaya Lal Das, in Janakpur and abduction of a mayoral candidate in Bardiya by Maoists discouraged people to contest for the polls, among others. In Nepalgunj, a candidate withdrew his nomination for the post of Mayor owing to pressure from his wife. Only ten people have filed their nominations for various posts of the Nepalgunj municipality. Similarly, in the far-western town of Dhangadhi, only seven people have filed their candidature. Reports say poor show right in the beginning of the election process for the municipal polls has worried the officials. An Election Commission spokesperson however said he was happy to note that nominations had been filed across the country without any disturbance. nepalnews.com by/ia Jan 26 06