The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kathmandu

Nepal has abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and booted the king out of his palace, but the former rebel Maoists and mainstream parties remain bitterly at odds and unable to form a government.

Former king Gyanendra's low-key departure to live as a commoner on Wednesday was a milestone in the peace process that ended a decade-long Maoist insurgency in the impoverished Himalayan nation.

But filling the void left behind by the monarchy is proving a challenge for the partners in the 2006 peace deal, with the ex-rebels and political parties deadlocked over power-sharing and blaming each other for the impasse.

The Maoists argue they deserve to form the first republican government after winning the biggest share of seats in the 601-member constitutional assembly that was elected in April.

"As soon as the results became clear, the political parties should have all resigned and let us form a coalition government," Maoist military commander Nanda Kishor Pun told AFP.

"It's a disgrace that the prime minister has not resigned yet," he said, referring to veteran politician Girija Prasad Koirala, seen as the architect of the peace deal. Koirala, however, is still hanging on to his position even though his Nepali Congress party was badly beaten by the ultra-leftists in the elections.

"The old parties have not been able to let go of their love for government positions," Pun said. But Nepal's mainstream parties argue it is too early to hand over full power to the Maoists, and insist that the peace process has not been completed.

Koirala's Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the constitutional assembly, has laid down a set of preconditions that the ex-rebels must meet before it will back them in government.

"They have to give back the land and property they seized during the conflict," senior Nepali Congress official Arjun Narsingh Khatri Chettri told AFP.

The Maoists' feared youth wing-who face constant accusations of using mafia-like tactics-"are an organised group of goons who have been creating anarchy," and must be disbanded, the politician said.

Also, the fate of the 20,000 former Maoist guerrillas who are in United Nations-monitored camps as part of the peace pact needs to be resolved, he said.

"The issue of the Maoist weapons and the integration of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) is a serious problem and they have not come up with any solutions," said the Congress politician.

These conditions underscore the point that many in Nepal believe the ex-guerrillas have yet to adjust to being a mainstream political party, he said.

"We do not have any wish to remain in government, but the reason for the deadlock is there because they have not respected the norms of a multi-party democratic structure."

The result is that with the king ousted, Nepal is drifting along with an interim constitution, interim head of state and interim government.

Meanwhile, some former Maoists are hanging onto their guns until the situation clears.

Veteran democracy activist Devendra Raj Panday said that after the excitement of the peace pact and the sacking of an unpopular, authoritarian king, the political situation has turned into a rather depressing spat.

"We have had historic elections, and a republic declaration, but we are still stuck in traditional power politics," said Panday, who heads the Civil Movement for Peace and Democracy.