Around 5,000 flag-waving Maoist supporters have marched and chanted anti-monarchy slogans near Nepal's Parliament, as the main parties and the rebels tried to revive a deadlocked peace process.
The factions remained at odds as a special session of Parliament aimed at paving the way towards the country's new political future got under way.
The ex-rebels want Parliament to debate their demands for an immediate abolition of the Himalayan nation's monarchy, as well as a new voting system.
"We are confident that our proposals will be passed," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.
But Arjun Narsingh KC, a leader from Nepal's largest party, the Nepali Congress, said there was no consensus.
"The Nepali Congress party has decided to vote against the Maoists' motions as their demands do not comply with the interim constitution and the peace accord," he said.
The Nepali Congress now supports a republican agenda but wants the future of King Gyanendra to be decided by a popular vote.
The UN's top official in Nepal said on Wednesday that the failure of both the Maoists and the country's mainstream parties to implement agreements on key issues in last November's peace deal had led to the current political crisis.
Weaknesses include the Maoists continuing to use violence and intimidation, and the Government failing to assist former rebels currently restricted to UN-supervised camps.
As part of the accord, the UN was invited to monitor former guerrillas confined to camps around the country, and assist in polls on the country's political future that have twice been cancelled.
Despite storming out of an interim government last month, the Maoists still have 73 lawmakers in the 330-seat Parliament. The Nepali Congress has 132 seats. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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