Girija Prasad Koirala Congress Pushpa Kamal Dahal CPN (Maoist) Executive: Federal Parliament: Judiciary: Constituent Assembly elections were held in Nepal on 10 April 2008,[1][2] having been postponed from earlier dates of 7 June 2007[citation needed] and 22 November 2007.

[7][8][9] The first delay for holding the assembly occurred due to the lack of preparation on behalf of the Election Commission as well as the seven parties that were at the helm of the government.

[11] On 4 November, most parties in the interim parliament voted in favour of a Maoist proposal calling for a fully proportional election system.

[citation needed] However, an absolute majority could not be achieved because the then largest party in the parliament, Nepali Congress, vehemently opposed the idea.

The election of the 601-seat Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution was touted as the cornerstone of a 2006 peace deal struck with the Maoists-rebels, ending the Nepali Civil War in 2006 that forced Nepal's king Gyanendra to cede power, which he had seized in the year 2005.

[citation needed] The Maoists left the interim government on 18 September 2007, citing the non-fulfillment of their demands (which included declaration of a republic before the elections).

[citation needed] On election day, Maoists reportedly tried to seize a polling station in Galkot and then set fire to it; 15 attackers were said to have been arrested.

[28] As of 17 April 26 women have secured seats in the new assembly, 22 from the CPN (M), one from the Nepali Congress, two from the Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal and one from Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party.

[28] Pro-monarchy politician Rudra Bahadur from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, who had failed to be elected in his constituency, was found murdered on 18 April 2008 in his home.

[29] Around the same time, Prachanda stated that he would "take the initiative to talk to the king in person" in hopes of convincing him to abdicate; he said that, after leaving the throne, Gyanendra could still live in Nepal and remain involved in business.

[citation needed] On 11 June, Gyanendra gave a brief press conference at Narayanhiti, stating his acceptance of the republic and promising cooperation.

[citation needed] According to the CPN (M) Minister for Local Development, Dev Gurung, the purpose of the resignations was to "accelerate the process of formation of a new government and bring an end to the current transitional period".

[citation needed] Also on 12 June, CPN (UML) General Secretary Jhal Nath Khanal asserted that a member of his party should become president.

[citation needed]At a meeting with Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) General Secretary C. P. Mainali on 14 June, Koirala stressed the importance of power-sharing according to the popular mandate and consensus.

[citation needed] Prachanda, meanwhile, said that he expected the new government to be formed imminently, calling on other parties to support this and warning that anyone contravening the people's mandate would have a "heavy price" to pay.

Koirala, who was supportive of the NFIN's request, also sharply criticized his rivals on this occasion, saying that they were practicing petty politics and were not respecting the people's mandate to work on a consensus basis.

[citation needed] Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress said on 24 June that the CPN (M) was responsible for the deadlock and claimed that it was working to divide the Seven-Party Alliance.

[citation needed] Also on 24 June, the seven parties agreed on the introduction of a constitutional amendment providing for the election of a President and the formation of a government through simple majority votes.

"[citation needed] Prachanda, in an interview on 30 June, expressed frustration with the Madhesi parties' disruption, which occurred just after Koirala's resignation, when it appeared the road to forming a new government was clear.

[citation needed] Khanal, the CPN (UML) General Secretary, flatly rejected the demand for a single Madhesi province, condemning it as "a game to disintegrate the nation".

[citation needed] Sessions of the Constituent Assembly were attempted on 3 and 4 July, but both were immediately disrupted by the Madhesi members and were aborted.

The draft requires the State Restructuring Commission to consider the March 2008 agreement between the government and the Madhesis when drawing up Nepal's federal structure.

[citation needed] 23 of the 26 nominated members of the Constituent Assembly were sworn in on 7 July; the remaining three were unable to attend the swearing in ceremony.

[citation needed] The Constituent Assembly was able to meet and function on 9 July, for the first time since the Madhesis began pressing their demands on 26 June.

[citation needed] Although they did not disrupt the Constituent Assembly on this occasion, the three Madhesi parties furiously condemned the proposed bill and vowed that their struggle would continue.

[citation needed] However, the CPN (M) criticized the Nepali Congress on 12 July for "obstructing the process [of forming a government] for the past three months".

[citation needed] The Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), and the MJF agreed on the morning of 19 July to back one another's candidates for the positions of President, vice-president, and Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, with each of the parties receiving one of the three posts.

[citation needed] The newly formed alliance agreed to support CPN(UML) member Subash Chandra Nemwang as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, and he was elected to that post without opposition on 23 July 2008.

The CPN (UML) ministers were not sworn in on this occasion; they refused to take the oath due to an unfulfilled demand that the party receive the second-ranking position in the Cabinet.

On the day before the filing deadline, the Rastriya Janashakti Party announced it would boycott the election, citing the fact that the government "ignored the worsening situation in the Terai plans".