Nepal's Maoists agree to join assembly, ends political crisis

Nepal's sulking Maoist party today agreed to join the recently elected Constituent Assembly (CA), ending months of political turmoil to pave the way for a new government and drafting of a fresh Constitution.
The Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) agreed on a four-point accord.
The new agreement includes the formation of a parliamentary board to look into alleged poll rigging, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate atrocities committed by state forces and former rebels during the civil war, UCPN-M leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha said.
The agreement does not mention who will head the probe into the rigging allegations. The Maoists have been demanding that party chief Prachanda should be made the permanent head of the mechanism.

Meanwhile, CPN-UML leader Raghuji Pant said the deal will be finalised following discussion with the Madhes-based parties.
With this agreement in place, the parties are likely to request the Election Commission once again to extend the deadline to submit the final name lists of their candidates under the Proportional Representation category of the CA.

Prachanda-led Maoists, who were routed in November 19 polls, threw the country into fresh turmoil as they refused to join the CA, alleging fraud in the elections.
The formation of the new CA is vital to complete a peace process after a 10-year civil war which left an estimated 16,000 people dead.

The meeting called by NC President Sushil Koirala reached an agreement in principle to draft the new constitution within six months and promulgate it within a year.