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| November poll 'agreed in Nepal' | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Nepal will hold elections in November to a special assembly which will write a new constitution, the governing coalition has announced. | |
| The eight ruling parties agreed to hold the polls which will determine the future of monarchy and the political system, lawmaker PS Mahat said. | |
| The parties had earlier agreed to hold the polls in June. | The parties had earlier agreed to hold the polls in June. |
| But the election commission said it needed more time to draft new laws before polling took place. | But the election commission said it needed more time to draft new laws before polling took place. |
| Date unclear | |
| "We have agreed to hold the constituent assembly elections by the end of November and the eight party leaders have given the responsibility to the government to fix the date," Ramchandra Poudel, Nepal's minister for peace and reconstruction, told the AFP news agency. | |
| He said that the country's parliament, formed in January, will need to amend the interim constitution in the next two weeks. | |
| The weapons of both sides are under UN supervision | |
| "We have also agreed to amend the interim constitution and formulate the necessary election laws by mid-June," he said. | |
| United Left Front party leader CP Mainali said that Prime Minister GP Koirala had proposed 26 November as election day, but that the date had not been approved by the leaders of the other parties. | |
| Correspondents say that the elections will decide the future of Nepal's beleaguered monarch, King Gyanendra, who was forced to relinquish most of his powers after huge protests in April last year ended his absolute rule. | |
| The Maoists insist that the king should be removed and the country declared a republic before polls are held. | |
| "Our party thinks that we will not be able to hold the elections without declaring a republic through parliament, so we have sent a note of dissent on the election date agreement to the other party leaders," said Dinanath Sharma, a senior Maoist leader. | |
| At least 13,000 people were killed in the fighting between security forces and Maoists, after the rebels began their insurgency in 1996. | |
| As part of a landmark peace deal agreed late last year, the former rebels and the army have placed their weapons under United Nations supervision. |