The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kathmandu

The fate of Nepal's King Gyanendra looked bleaker Sunday after the country's parliament passed a proposal instructing the government to begin legal preparations to declare the country a republic.

"Parliament has passed a proposal to turn the country into a democratic republic and has asked the government to make the necessary arrangements," house speaker Subash Nemwang told AFP after the proposal tabled by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) was passed by a majority voice vote.

The proposal was a compromise reached after Nepal's former rebel Maoists demanded that the monarchy be immediately scrapped and the voting system for cancelled polls be changed.

Sunday's proposal approval came after a special parliament session called by the Maoists to address their demands.