May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Nepalese demonstrators demanding King Gyanendra immediately quits the royal palace clashed with police in the capital, Kathmandu, a day after lawmakers declared the country a republic and abolished the 240-year-old Shah dynasty.

At least 10 people were injured when police wielding bamboo sticks beat stone-throwing protesters trying to break a security cordon around Narayanhiti palace yesterday, Nepalnews.com reported. The government said it will notify the king that he has 15 days to move out.

The assembly has directed the government to ``take necessary measures'' to remove the king from the palace, Jhala Nath Khanal, general-secretary of Nepal's third-biggest party, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), said by telephone from Kathmandu yesterday. ``I hope he has made up his mind to do so.''

Nepal's newly elected parliament voted May 28 to scrap the monarchy, the key demand of the former rebel CPN (Maoist) group which staged a 10-year insurgency that ended with a peace accord in 2006. The Maoists won most seats in last month's general elections.

The king, who hasn't publicly commented on his plans, will receive a letter from Cabinet's political committee today notifying him of the Constituent Assembly's decision to declare Nepal a federal democratic republic and the deadline for his departure, Nepalnews.com reported.

`Government Control'

The government will ``record the properties and assets of the palace and take them under government control,'' Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the information minister and top Maoist official, told Nepalnews.com. The government plans to turn the palace in the center of Kathmandu into a museum.

A committee will help lawmakers rewrite the constitution, a process that must be completed within two years, Khanal said.

Nepal's parties are holding talks on candidates for the posts of president and prime minister, he added. They have already agreed that the president will have a ceremonial role and power will be concentrated in the prime minister's office.

``I do not think the president and prime minister will be from the same party,'' Khanal said. ``The method for electing the president has also to be agreed upon by the parties. The process will be completed within two weeks.''

The Maoists won 220 seats in the April 10 ballot. Nepali Congress, the nation's oldest political party, won 110 seats, while the CPN (UML) secured 103 and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, representing the Terai region bordering India, won 52.

Terrorist Group

The U.S. lists the Maoists a terrorist group. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Evan Feigenbaum said in Washington yesterday he held talks with Nepal's top political leaders this week and raised U.S. concerns about political violence.

He declined to comment on whether the U.S. will review the Maoists' designation on two U.S. terrorism lists.

The elections were part of Nepal's peace accord that saw the Maoists send their 23,500 fighters to camps under United Nations supervision and join an interim government. More than 13,000 people were killed in Nepal's civil war.

Gyanendra lost most of his powers in 2006 when he was forced by nationwide strikes to end more than a year of absolute rule. An interim administration ordered him to pay taxes, placed the army under civilian control and removed his image from the 500-rupee note, replacing it with Mount Everest.

Gyanendra became king in June 2001 after his brother Birendra and close relatives were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra, who then shot himself.

The dynasty began in 1768 when King Prithivi Narayan Shah unified the country that was divided into principalities. He took control of Kathmandu and drove the Malla rulers from the surrounding valley.

Nepal, located between India and China, is among the world's poorest, according to the U.S. government. One-third of its citizens live below the poverty line and per capita gross domestic product is about $1,100.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net; Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 29, 2008 23:02 EDT