KATHMANDU (AFP) — Nepal celebrated a new era as the world's youngest republic Thursday after consigning its centuries-old monarchy to the history books and giving god-king Gyanendra two weeks to quit his palace.
In an unprecedented vote that caps a peace accord between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, a new constitutional assembly voted massively to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy and establish a republic in its place.
It marks a key victory for the Maoists, who battled security forces for a decade to overthrow what they view as a backward, caste-ridden structure that has kept most of Nepal's 29 million people living in dire poverty.
"The Nepalese people have been freed from centuries of feudal tradition and the doors have now opened for a radical social and economic transformation," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP after the vote.
Supporters sang, danced and whistled on Kathmandu's streets after waiting all day for the vote, which was delayed by last-minute jockeying for position in the new political landscape.
"I am overjoyed," said an ecstatic Rajesh Subedi, a 21-year-old student and Maoist supporter. "This is the most important day of my life."
Many ordinary Nepalese are delighted to see the back of the dour, unpopular king as well as his son and would-be heir, Crown Prince Paras -- notorious for his alleged playboy lifestyle in one of the world's poorest nations.
The royals have been told to leave their heavily-guarded Kathmandu palace within 15 days and adapt to life as common citizens.
The constitutional assembly also ordered that the palace be turned into a museum, and the Maoists have repeatedly warned Gyanendra that he faces "strong punishment" if he refuses to bow out gracefully.
But there was no immediate reaction from the palace, and sources close to the king said it was unclear what Gyanendra's next move would be.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed the vote, saying Nepalese "have clearly spoken for peace and change," but called on all parties "to continue working in a cooperative manner."
The United States, which continues to list the former rebels as a foreign "terrorist" organisation, declined to comment on the vote, but urged "forward political developments" in the nation.
"Certainly, it's a situation we continue to watch and we continue to urge forward political developments in that country," US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said in Washington.
The vote in the 650-member assembly late Wednesday saw just four lawmakers oppose the declaration transforming Nepal into "an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic nation."
"All the privileges enjoyed by the king and royal family will automatically come to an end," the declaration states, noting that the day will be known as "Republic Day."
The ultra-left Maoists, who signed up for peace in 2006 after a decade of armed struggle that left at least 13,000 people dead, won most of the seats in the assembly in elections last month.
They are also set to lead Nepal's new government, although many people are still sceptical of a movement whose loyalists are regularly accused of using violence and intimidation.
As for Gyanendra, he ascended the throne amid grief and suspicion in 2001 after most of the members of the royal family were slain in a palace massacre by the then crown prince, Dipendra.
Dipendra, who had been forbidden from marrying the woman he loved, gunned down his parents, the king and queen, and seven other royals before apparently turning the gun on himself.
Gyanendra was at the centre of many conspiracy theories linking him to the killings, and his unpopularity only deepened when he sacked the government and embarked on a period of autocratic rule in early 2005.
That came to an end after weeks of deadly nationwide protests organised by the Maoists and the mainstream parties he sidelined, who teamed up to sign a peace agreement.
"His powers have already been clipped over the last two years, but now the institution has become illegitimate and no one now has a political basis for trying to revive it," said Prashant Jha, a journalist and political analyst.
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