Nepal's twice-delayed elections for a special assembly to map the nation's political future will be held on April 10, the government said on Friday, a vote expected to cap a peace process with the Maoists.
The assembly will write a new constitution for Nepal, and will formally declare the country a republic after more than two centuries of royal rule.
"We have set the elections for April 10," Minister for Labour and Transport Ramesh Lekhak told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
They will be the first national polls in nearly nine years.
Elections for the 601-member constituent assembly tasked to prepare a new constitution, earlier set for November last year, were postponed after the former Maoists rebels quit the interim government three months ago.
That step by the former guerrillas, who began a brutal fight against the monarchy in 1996 that caused more than 13,000 deaths, triggered a political deadlock that clouded the peace pact.
The impasse ended in December when the government agreed to a Maoist demand to abolish the monarchy after the election, and this was approved by parliament.
{{/usCountry}}The impasse ended in December when the government agreed to a Maoist demand to abolish the monarchy after the election, and this was approved by parliament.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier the assembly had been expected to decide the fate of the monarchy. But now it will only rubber stamp parliament's decision to turn the impoverished nation into a republic.