Official: Nepal's former communist rebels win elections

Former communist rebels won the most seats in Nepal's new governing assembly, taking more than double the number of their nearest rival, an election official said Thursday.

The former insurgents, known as the Maoists, are now expected to form the backbone of Nepal's new government and usher in sweeping changes to the impoverished Himalayan nation, although they will not have an absolute majority in the 601-seat Constituent Assembly.

Among the biggest likely changes is the abolition of Nepal's 239-year-old monarchy, which the Maoists have repeatedly said must go.

But the Maoists, who are considered terrorists by the United States, have made it clear they are committed capitalists, albeit left-leaning ones, and have no plans to transform Nepal into a communist state.

Apart from that, there's still much uncertainty over what the new government will look like.