NEPAL:AMID SCENES of jubilation on the streets of the capital, Katmandu, Nepal's newly sworn-in members of the Constituent Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a declaration to turn the tiny Himalayan country into a republic late last night.
"Today is the day that comes once in an era," said the octogenarian prime minister and leader of the Nepali Congress party, Girija Prasad Koirala, from the podium of a specially prepared conference hall to accommodate 601 members of the historic assembly.
"Today is the day my dream, and probably the nation's dream, has been fulfilled," he said.
"The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly announces by the sovereign state powers invested in the Nepali people that Nepal has become a Federal Democratic Republic," read the home minister, Krishna Prasad Situala, to assembly members, diplomats and media.
The declaration of a republic, originally demanded by the former rebel Maoist party, finally scraps the Shah monarchy which has ruled Nepal for over 240 years, and has been awaiting a decision on its fate since it lost political power following a successful people's uprising in 2006.
The historic declaration also states that the royal family will no longer enjoy special cultural, economic and traditional rights, except those of an ordinary citizen.
The Narayanhity royal palace and its contents will become a museum and the heritage of the Nepali people, according to last night's declaration.
While calls have been made for King Gyanendra, believed by many to be a Hindu divinity and descendant of the Hindu god Vishnu, to vacate the Narayanhity palace in the centre of Katmandu, he has not openly spoken about his intentions.
However, many expect the unpopular king will respect the wishes of the people and elected parties by moving out of the palace and into one of the properties he owns in Katmandu.
It is also expected he will resume the normal business life he led before being, unexpectedly, catapulted to become king, when his brother and nine other members of the royal family were wiped out in a palace massacre in 2001.
The historic first meeting of the assembly and vote to finally consign the world's only Hindu kingdom to the dustbin, was marred by minor scuffles outside the meeting as party supporters grew impatient with the delays in proceedings, which were scheduled to take place earlier in the day.
At around 8pm, two small explosions went off directly outside the centre, sending the remaining gathering into a state of panic. The culprit, from a pro-Hindu party, was quickly identified and beaten up before police intervened and arrested him. Two people including a policeman were injured.
Nepalis say much of the mystique of the royal family was destroyed by the 2001 palace massacre in which popular King Birendra and eight other royals were killed by then Crown Prince Dipendra, who then turned a gun on himself.
Political parties and Maoists say a new president will step into the king's place as a head of state after the end of the monarchy. - ( Additional reporting: Reuters)