Nepal PM agrees to step down

Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) said that he would step down in a last-minute bid to secure the support of Maoist MPs for a government Bill to extend parliament's term.

It was due to end on Friday, which would have left the country without a functioning legislature.

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist (UCPN-M) and its supporters have been protesting both in parliament and on the street for months to press Mr Nepal to go.

The UCPN-M controls most seats in the assembly and their support was required to get the two-thirds majority to pass the Bill.

CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gyawali said: "Leaders of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Maoists are now in deep discussions on how to take Friday's agreement forward."

The UCPN-M fought a decade-long "people's war" against the former monarchist regime before agreeing to lay down their arms in a 2006 UN-brokered peace agreement.

The Maoists then launched mass street protests and general strikes that forced the king to step down.

They won 2008 elections, but the Maoist-led government fell last year in a disagreement over the integration of former guerillas into the national army.They have been agitating for a return to power ever since.

As the largest party in parliament they are expected to take a lead role in any power-sharing government, but the prime minister's spokesman Bishnu Rijal said there were issues to be addressed before this could happen.

Mr Rijal said that Mr Nepal "is not going to get in the way, but he wants to make sure that all the outstanding issues arising from the peace process are settled before he resigns."

As well as the integration of thousands of former Maoist fighters into the national army, these include the disbanding of UCPN-M youth wing the Young Communist League, which rival parties say is an obstacle to lasting peace.