[JURIST] Security officials in Nepal [JURIST news archive] banned protests and rallies near the royal palace and the residence of King Gyanendra [JURIST news archive] on Monday, in anticipation of Wednesday's expected abolition of the Nepalese monarchy. Nepal's interim parliament voted in December 2007 to abolish the monarchy [JURIST report] of as a part of a plan to bring members of the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoists (CPN-M) [party website] back into the country's government. On Wednesday, a 601-member Constituent Assembly, elected in April [JURIST report], will meet to work on drafting a new constitution [JURIST news archive] and is expected to dethrone the King. The move to ban protests at the royal palace and king's residence will affect plans by the CPN-M and other smaller political parties to hold victory rallies at those locations on Wednesday. AP has more.

The establishment of the CPN-M-dominated Constituent Assembly and the abolition of the monarchy were the main parts of a 2006 peace agreement [text; JURIST report] between the CPN-M and the Nepalese government, which marked the end of a 10-year Maoist insurgency [JURIST report].