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After waging a bloody insurgency for a decade, Nepal's Maoist rebels were set to take a quarter of the seats in a new parliament as they move forward on the path to the political mainstream.
Nearly nine months after the rebels and the government reached a ceasefire deal, the cabinet approved an interim constitution at the weekend, and members of a new 330-seat parliament, including 83 Maoists, were due to be sworn in.
“It will be yet another milestone in Nepali politics. The day will represent a victory of democracy over feudal and autocratic systems,” Amik Sherchan, one of Nepal's two deputy prime ministers, told AFP.
“The Maoists will enter parliament for the first time and the house session will pass the interim constitution on the same day after discussions,” Sherchan said.
Rebel spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP that the Maoists are “excited and looking forward to being part of the interim legislature”.
Among their delegates are members of marginalised groups never before represented in Nepal's parliament.
The Maoists are expected to join the cabinet within a couple of weeks, but negotiations are still to take place on which posts they will hold.
The rebels launched a deadly “people's war” in 1996 to install a communist republic in the impoverished Himalayan nation. The conflict claimed at least 12,500 lives and dealt a hard blow to Nepal's already fragile economy.
The Maoists and seven parties in government struck a loose alliance in November 2005 after King Gyanendra seized direct control of the state earlier that year.
The king restored parliament in April last year after weeks of mass protests calling on him to end direct rule.
The Maoists and government have now observed a ceasefire for nearly nine months, and the rebels have agreed to place their weapons and army under UN monitoring, with the first arms to be deposited on Monday.
The rebels are now keen to see Nepal become a republic but other parties in government want a ceremonial monarchy.
The new temporary constitution includes provisions that formally strip Gyanendra of his status as head of state, with his executive powers passing to Prime Minister G.P. Koirala.
The parliament will oversee elections to a body that will draft a new permanent constitution, and tackle the controversial issue of the monarchy's fate.
