In a dramatic turnaround in his position on Nepal's monarchy, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said Monday that King Gyanendra should abdicate now instead of waiting for the outcome of a vote on his future.

Koirala, a veteran politician who heads an interim government in the run-up to elections to a constituent assembly, has been among the few mainstream leaders in favor of retaining the unpopular monarchy in some form, possibly ceremonial.

But with demands growing to declare Nepal a republic, Koirala said the king's stepping down would help in a smooth transition to a new and permanent political set up in the embattled Himalayan nation.

"The king and crown prince are persons of ill repute," Koirala told reporters in his home town of Biratnagar, 200 kilometers southeast of Kathmandu.

"It will be good if the king steps down on his own," Koirala said in comments shown on state television. "This will open up the way."

The government and Leftists, who signed a peace deal ending a decade-old civil war against the monarchy, agreed in November that the constituent assembly, due to be elected in June, would decide the future of the monarchy.

King Gyanendra, whose popularity has plunged since he grabbed absolute power in 2005 only to be forced to restore democracy last year, defended his actions in a recent public statement, triggering fierce protests from political parties, who accused him of interfering in politics.

(China Daily via agencies March 13, 2007)