A Maoist political party has won elections in Nepal this week, an outcome that leaves many analysts in disbelief. The elections have bolstered the Maoists into one of the most important political positions in the history of Nepal. The newly elected assembly is charged with writing a new constitution, and will likely make drastic changes to the way the country is governed.

The major goal of the Maoist movement, however, is the abolition of the Nepali monarchy, which has ruled for more than 250 years.

“The long term goal of the Maoists is to overthrow feudalism in the country,” said George Guo, associate professor of political science. “Their major goal is a nationalistic, populist, democratic government.”

The Maoists have just recently laid down their weapons and entered the political arena after a 10-year armed struggle to take over the government. The war killed over 12,800 people.

Two years ago, civilian protestors forced King Gyanendra to relinquish most of his ruling powers. This led to a partial disarmament by the Maoists and eventually led to their attempt at political power.

The Maoists’ rise has come under fire from opponents as well as international observers. The Maoists have yet to renounce violence and have implied that they would fight again if they lost the election.

The group has also been accused of using fear and intimidation to secure an electoral victory. The youth movement has been accused of beating rivals in the streets and firebombing homes of rival candidates.

“There are two types of Communists,” said Pradip Nepal, a member of the rival Marxist-Leninist party, in an interview with The New York Times. “One is democratic, one is autocratic. Ours is a democratic party. Theirs is not.”

The leader of the Maoists, Prachanda, attempted to quell fears of an autocratic and violent government.

“Because our party, our cadres have come from war, they always use the words we should have to capture, we should have to be militant, we should go ahead, we will win,” Prachanda said to The New York Times. “Even in using words, we have to be more cautious.”

The victory of the Maoists also has major implications for the region. Nepal is located between India and China, the two great regional powers and the election is clearly a major issue for each of those countries.

While the Chinese are surely celebrating the election of their comrades, India, which is closely tied to the West, is reacting with caution.

Nepal and India have a unique relationship based off of a treaty signed in 1950. The treaty opened the borders and gave Nepalese the right to live and work in India without immigration proceedings. In return, India was able to put military posts on the Nepali border with China.

“The 1950 treaty was basically meant to help address India’s security needs,” said K.V. Rajan, a former Indian ambassador to Nepal, to BBC News.

The Maoists view the treaty as giving too much power and influence to the Indians, and have repeatedly advocated tearing up the treaty.

The Indians also are dealing with an under-publicized Maoist insurgency of their own, and wonder how the Nepali Maoists will affect their situation.

The election obviously leads to thoughts about the future of the nation and Asia as a whole. The Maoists seem determined to change the course of history for their nation, and now have legitimate means to do so.