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Nepal | 893.7 M i s s i o n R e v i e w sNepalInitially slated for June 2007, elections forNepal’s constituent assembly were postponedtwice, in part as a consequence of challenges to thepeace process from marginalized groups, includingpopulations in the Terai region of Nepal borderingon India, but took place on 10 April 2008.The Maoists emerged as the strongest party in theconstituent assembly, with 240 out of 601 seats.After a protracted period of political wrangling,Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepal Congress party wasinstalled as the country’s first president and PushpaKamal Dahal, the Maoist leader more commonlyknown as Prachanda, as prime minister. In May2009, however, an attempt by Prachanda to dismissthe army chief precipitated a political crisis and theMaoists’ departure from government. A prolongedpolitical impasse then ensued, greatly complicatingUNMIN’s role.UNMIN/Sekhar KarkiBackgroundMember of UN team prepares the camp for discharge camp process,Chulachuli, Liam district, Eastern Region, February 2010.The period since January 2009 has been achallenging one for the United NationsMission in Nepal (UNMIN). Originally conceivedas a “focused mission of limited duration,” by mid2010 the mission had been extended through foursuccessive six months periods beyond the one yearmandate it had been given in January 2007, andthen for two further four month periods.UNMIN was established in early 2007 to assistin the implementation of specific elements of theComprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) whichended the decade-long conflict between the CommunistParty of Nepal (Maoist) and the Nepalistate in 2006.It was an unusual mission in several respects.It sought to provide assistance to a peace processthat was a national achievement, centered upon anagreement reached without international mediation.Its mandate was limited to the monitoring of