(Recasts with end of talks) By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Nepal's interim government and the Maoists failed to break a deadlock on Thursday over the former rebels contesting polls in November to decide the future of the monarchy, but agreed to more talks to end the crisis. The Maoists quit the interim government last month demanding the monarchy's immediate abolition before the Nov. 22 elections for a constituent assembly, a key part of a peace deal last year aimed at ending a decade-long civil war. Thursday's talks were considered a last ditch attempt to prevent the vote from being postponed as the election commission has given political parties until Friday to submit the list of their candidates for the polls. The two sides said that although they were unable to achieve a breakthrough they had agreed to resume negotiations early on Friday. "Since there was no consensus on our demands we proposed that the election process be delayed until they are settled by a special session of parliament," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told reporters after the talks. He said the former rebels were only demanding a change in the deadline for filing nominations and not the entire vote. But with mainstream political parties not agreeing to the demand, the two sides decided they would meet again, said Jhal Nath Khanal, a senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), one of the mainstream parties. "There was no agreement. We want the elections on time," Khanal said. Besides wanting the monarchy to be abolished ahead of the Nov. 22 vote, the former rebels are also insisting on full proportional representation for the elections -- something Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's government opposes. POLL DELAY FEARED The Maoists have vowed to disrupt the polls and launch street protests if the government did not give in. They have called a special session of parliament next week to decide on the demands. Political analysts had been doubtful of a solution even before Thursday's negotiations. "The election does not look possible in November as the Maoists are determined to boycott the election without the proportional representation system being accepted by the ruling alliance," said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Samay news magazine. "That is something the Nepali Congress and the prime minister are clearly opposed to," he said, referring to the country's biggest political party headed by the premier. Some analysts say the Maoists, who joined the political mainstream only last year, were afraid of losing the polls and believe the proportional representation system will give them more seats in the assembly. The Maoists earlier agreed that 240 members of the 497-seat assembly would be elected directly by the people and an equal number through proportional representation. The cabinet would nominate the rest. Media reports said some ambassadors including from the United States and India -- key donors to impoverished Nepal -- had asked the government not to delay the vote, the first national elections since 1999. More than 13,000 people were killed in the Maoist conflict that ended last year when the guerrillas signed a peace deal with the government and deposited their arms in containers under U.N. watch.
