-CA term extended by a year PM to resign within a week

-News published in Republica,
KATHMANDU, May 28: The term of the Constituent Assembly has finally been extended for a year with 580 votes in favor and five against, at a meeting of parliament that began at 11:45 pm on Friday.
Speaker Subas Nembang announced the term extension at 1:25 a.m.
The CA extension became possible after the three major parties -- UCPN-M, NC and UML-- which between them hold a two-thirds majority in the CA sealed a three-point deal late in the evening Friday.
Top leaders of the three parties had struggled throughout the day over the specificity of the agreement and its wording. But they finally agreed on the text of the deal at around 11 p.m. and it was signed by UCPN-M Chairman Puspha Kamal Dahal, NC Acting President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal.
One thing that is still not clear in the three-point deal is within how many days Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will resign. Despite Maoist insistence on naming a specific date for the PM´s resignation, NC and UML leaders refused to do so.
Even after the signing of the agreement, Maoist Chairman Dahal was insisting that the prime minister will have to resign in the next three or four days but UML leaders were arguing that he could resign in a week´s time.
The deal brings to an end a political deadlock plaguing the country for the last one year since Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned as prime minister after his failed attempt to sack then army chief Rookmangud Katwal.
Out of power, the UCPN-M launched a series of protests to force the government into a compromise, if not to remove it from power.
On May 1 it had announced an indefinite general strike demanding resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. Following their general strike debacle, the Maoists had maintained that they would not agree to extend the CA term unless Prime Minister Nepal resigned.
The general election for the CA was held on April 10, 2008. The two-year term of the CA to draft a new constitution expired at midnight Friday.

-Politics ahead
Though the parties have agreed to extend the CA they are yet to reach an agreement on a number of complicated issues. They will now have to negotiate and agree on three key issues -- taking the peace process to a logical end, writing the constitution, and power sharing.
The parties have agreed that they will soon begin negotiations on each of these issues and will reach a comprehensive deal before a new national consensus government is formed. The parties are yet to agree on who will lead the national consensus government.

-Three-point agreement
1. We are firmly committed to consensus and cooperation to take the peace process to a logical conclusion and to immediately complete the remaining tasks of the peace process and accomplish the historic responsibility of writing a new constitution.
2. Though significant progress has been made toward constitution drafting process, all the works have not been completed yet. So we have agreed to extend the term of the Constituent Assembly by one year.
3. We are ready to move ahead on the basis of consensus to accomplish the above-mentioned responsibilities and works as soon as possible by forming a national consensus government. We would like to make it clear that the prime minister of the present coalition government is ready to resign as soon as possible.

-UNMIN hails deal
The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has welcomed the agreement of the parties to extend the CA term."I welcome the decision by the parties to take the necessary steps to extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly. The parties now have a precious opportunity to address outstanding peace process issues without further delay," UNMIN Chief Karin Landgren told myrepublica.com.