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There are still plenty of things that can go wrong between now and then, but the seven parties have agreed on a date for elections for the constituent assembly by April.
Just announcing an election date of course doesn't mean there is going to be one. There have been two abortive attempts in June and November 2007.
But this time it is different. Maoist hardliners, who had been putting their leadership under pressure not to agree to polls, are now on board. The NC, which had previously resorted to delaying tactics, has run out of excuses. The election commission, which had wanted 90 days for preparation, will have a comfortable margin for preparations this time.
Still, there are spoilers. The main problem is the unrest in the madhes, which is reaching boiling point. All madhesi groups have announced separate but coordinated agitation starting on 19 January, the anniversary of the uprising that flared up a year ago after a demonstrator was killed.
he royalist and centre-right political parties also don't want elections because the polls will automatically set the country on the path to republicanism. Kamal Thapa's RPP Nepal party held its first big rally in Kathmandu on Monday, questioning the right of the seven parties to abolish the monarchy.