Nepal Parliament votes for abolition of monarchy

Nepals interim Parliament on Friday passed the Constitution amendment bill paving the way for abolition of centuries-old monarchy.

Kathmandu, Dec 28 : Nepal's interim Parliament on Friday passed the Constitution amendment bill paving the way for abolition of centuries-old monarchy.

With the passage of the bill, Nepal on Friday turned into a federal democratic republic, to be implemented by the first meeting of Constituent Assembly.

The bill passed by a two-third majority, has set mid-April timeline for the Constituent Assembly election.

Out of 273 MPs, 270 voted in favour of the bill, while three voted against it, Nepalnews reported.

It also fixed the number of the Constituent Assembly members to 601, sixty percent of which will be elected under proportional voting system and the forty percent members will be elected directly.

The federal democratic republic order will be implemented by a simple majority of the Constituent Assembly.

The amended constitution states that the Prime Minister will bear all the responsibilities of the head of the state until the Constituent Assembly election.

The government had introduced the bill in the Parliament on Monday on the basis of the 23-point agreement that included the abolition of the monarchy, which was signed by the six ruling parties and the Maoists.

ANI