MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA WRITING ON THE WALL: A Congress activist paints a message calling for elections in Bhotahiti on Tuesday morning.

Nepalis took an inordinate interest in following the results of the US presidential elections this week, and there was great rejoicing over the victory of Barack Obama. The outcome of America's elections didn't really matter in Nepal, so could this be our way of showing support for democracy at a time when there are no signs here of elections any time soon?

One picture that went largely unnoticed in the media this week was of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai testing an indigenously-designed, low-cost electronic voting machine which allows ballots to be cast by simply touching the election symbol of the party voters opt for. This photo-op must have been Baluwatar's way of saying that the prime minister is not an obstacle for elections.

But the manner in which Bhattarai and his party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal are saying one thing about President Ram Baran Yadav in private, and goading their comrades to attack him in public, reeks of hypocrisy. It also raises strong questions about their seriousness in holding elections and writing a new constitution.

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