October 06, 2007	Saturday	Ramazan 23, 1428

KATHMANDU, Oct 5: Elections to decide Nepal’s future have been postponed indefinitely, ministers said on Friday, as government and Maoists squabbled over the fate of the monarchy and election systems.

The polls scheduled for Nov 22 were a key element of a peace deal sealed last year that ended a decade of insurgency by the Maoists, who are demanding the abolition of the monarchy.But the vote now faces a delay of at least three months and possibly as long as six months, an election official said.

“The seven party leaders (of the coalition government) have agreed to postpone the constituent assembly elections for an indefinite period,” Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chanda Poudel said.

Voters were to elect representatives to rewrite Nepal’s constitution and decide the fate of the Himalayan country’s embattled monarchy.

“The government has decided to call a special session of parliament on Oct 11” to discuss the Maoists’ demands, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said.

The parties in the coalition government issued a joint statement shortly after the postponement was announced, urging impoverished Nepal’s donors to continue their support of the peace process.

“We regret the postponement of the elections but we want to assure people that we are committed to hold constituent assembly elections and a new date will be fixed soon,” the statement said.—AFP