Vote count nears close, Nepal politics stirs up

By Krittivas Mukherjee

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Counting of votes in Nepal's key election is expected to end on Thursday, a contest likely to cement the former Maoist rebels as the largest party and give them a chance to lead a minority government.

The election, the centrepiece of a 2006 peace pact which ended a decade-long insurgency, is for a special assembly that will write a new constitution, abolish Nepal's 240-year-old monarchy and make laws.

Election officials said the final tally of seats could be announced late Thursday, but Nepali media said the vote count was complete and the Maoists were likely to bag 220 seats in the 601-member assembly, short of a simple majority

The Kathmandu Post daily and Avenues Television station said the traditionally strong Nepali Congress could win 110 seats and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) or CPN UML 103 seats. Both are centrist parties.

A regional party from the country's southern Madhesh plains could win 52 seats while the remaining goes to smaller parties, they said.

"So far as we are concerned there has been no official announcement of the final results," chief election commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel told Reuters. "Tabulation of proportional representation votes is on."

A complex mix of direct and proportional representation systems, the Maoists have already officially won exactly half of the 240 first-past-the post constituency seats.

Another 335 seats are to be filled by proportional representation, while the new cabinet will nominate the remaining 26 members.