Nepali election by mid-April next yr

Nepal's political parties and former rebels Saturday agreed to hold elections by mid-April next year, a top minister said.
"We have agreed (leaders of mainstream parties and the Maoists) to hold constituent assembly elections by the end of Nepali calendar year (April 12, 2008)," Ram Sharan Mahat, Finance Minister from Nepali Congress party, told AFP after meeting with Maoist leaders.
"The government will announce the date for polls soon."
The impoverished Himalayan nation has twice been scheduled to hold elections on its political future, but these polls have been postponed due to Maoist demands that the electoral system be reformed and the monarchy abolished.
The former rebels have threatened to take up arms again if their demands are not met.
But the minister said that discussions would continue with the Maoists to reach an agreement on declaring the country a republic and adopting a proportional election system.
"We are very close to a deal and we are hopeful of reaching an agreement in the next few days," the minister said.
The ultra-leftists, who ended a decade-long insurgency late last year, stormed out of an interim government in September, complaining they were not being given equal representation in the peace process.
The Maoists formally ended their decade-long insurgency that claimed over 13,000 lives after striking a landmark peace deal in November last year.
The former communist rebels came out of the jungle and joined hands with the political parties after weeks of massive pro-democracy protests forced King Gyanendra to end his 14 months of direct rule in April 2006.