Nepal constitution needs to be amended: PM

Earlier this month, senior political leaders and the Maoists finalized an interim constitution that paves the way for the rebels to join the government and transferred King Gyanendra's powers as the head of the state to the prime minister.

"Since the interim constitution has made the prime minister all powerful, there is a danger that he can act as a dictator, so it needs to be amended," Koirala told reporters at his hometown in Biratnagar, 548 kilometers (342 miles) east of Kathmandu, on Friday.

"There should be the balance of power by defining the authority of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary bodies... all powers should not be limited to a single person," Koirala said.

He also said that his party, Nepali Congress - the largest party in the coalition government - is in favor of the "ceremonial monarchy" and that the king's fate would be "decided by people through constituent assembly elections".

Koirala, the respected octogenarian architect of Nepal's peace deal to end the decade-long civil war, also said that the interim constitution would be endorsed only after the management of arms and armies of the Maoists was underway.

The temporary basic law is due to remain in force until elections slated for June 2007 for a constituent assembly that will rewrite the constitution permanently and decide the monarchy's ultimate fate.