KATMANDU: Nepal’s parliament speaker called an emergency meeting of top leaders Thursday in a last-ditch push for agreement on a constitution before a midnight deadline that they look almost certain to miss.

Subash Nembang urged lawmakers to work together to bring the long-delayed process of drawing up a new national charter to a close, after a chaotic week that saw violence both in parliament and on the streets.

“The country is watching us... what kind of message are we giving?” said Nembang after opposition lawmakers staged a noisy protest to prevent the House from voting on disputed issues.

“Let us talk... let us work together and conclude the process.”

Nembang called party leaders to a private meeting, the first since Tuesday’s scuffle, Pradeep Gyawali, spokesman for the ruling UML party, told AFP.

Nepal’s rival parties have for years been trying to reach agreement on a new constitution for the young republic.

Analysts say the protracted stalemate raises the risk of unrest in the impoverished Himalayan nation, where lawmakers this week threw chairs and scuffled in parliament as tempers frayed. The constitution was intended to conclude a peace process begun in 2006 when Maoist guerrillas entered politics, ending a decade-long insurgency that left an estimated 16,000 people dead.

Six prime ministers and two elections later, discord between the opposition Maoists and ruling parties has intensified, paralysing the drafting process.

As parliament opened on Thursday, Maoist lawmakers chanted slogans and rushed into the well of the hall, in a chaotic bid to prevent ruling party politicians from proposing a vote on disputed issues in the constitution.

Authorities have deployed 1,000 police to guard the building after the violence this week spilled over onto the streets and on Thursday 2,000 flag-waving protesters demonstrated outside. “We have waited so many years, we are tired of these leaders,” said Katmandu-based trader Niraj Shrestha, reflecting a growing sense of frustration over the delayed charter.