Nepal to Abolish Monarchy

Nepal's government has agreed for the first time that the 240-year-old monarchy should be abolished.

After more than two months of arguing, the leaders of the main political parties have finally yielded to pressure from Maoist former rebels.

The rebels demanded that a republican system be decided upon before elections rather than after them.

However the monarchy will not be scrapped until polls, rescheduled for next spring, have taken place.

The nearly three-month long paralysis gripping Nepal's peace process could now be coming to an end with PM Girija Prasad Koirala on Saturday giving in to the Maoists’ demand to axe the monarchy and proclaim the Himalayan kingdom a republic.

After interminable negotiations between the ruling parties and the guerrillas, a tripartite meeting on Saturday resulted in an agreement, a senior politician said.

The 23-point pact said the leaders also agreed that once a Constituent Assembly is elected by mid-April, its first meeting will declare Nepal a republic state and end its centuries-old monarchy.