Nepali parties vow to boycott municipal polls

"The seven parties have unanimously decided to boycott the municipal elections," said alliance spokesman Arjun Narsingh K.C., who is also a member of the Nepali Congress Party.

"All of the king's actions are unconstitutional, so we are not taking part in any of his activities," he said after an alliance meeting on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

The grouping had decided that any member who contests the polls would be expelled from party ranks, he added.

King Gyanendra announced the municipal elections in April after a storm of international criticism over his February 1 seizure of power, which he said was needed to end a bloody Maoist revolt in the impoverished Himalayan country.

The monarch, who has given himself three years to restore democracy, said the polls were part of an effort to "reactivate the democratic process".