United Nations: UN boss Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the people of Nepal on the first meeting of their Constituent Assembly, which voted overwhelmingly to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy and declare a republic.

"The secretary general congratulates the Nepalese people on the historic first meeting of the Constituent Assembly," his press office said in a statement.

Ban noted that the Nepalese "have clearly spoken for peace and change" through their April 10 landmark elections in which the ultra-leftist Maoists won a total of 217 seats in the new 601-member constituent assembly.

The UN chief urged all Nepalese parties "to continue working in a cooperative manner and to form a new government as soon as possible."

In an historic vote that caps a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, Nepalese politicians ordered unpopular King Gyanendra to step down and for his palace to be turned into a museum.

The abolition of the monarchy was a triumph for the Maoists, who fought for 10 years to oust the Gyanendra's Hindu dynasty, and marks a fresh start for one of the world's poorest countries, still reeling from a civil war that left at least 13,000 people dead.

Source : PTI