Kathmandu, Sept. 24 (AP): Two of Nepal’s biggest political parties have agreed in principle to reunite five years after splitting, in an attempt to boost their strength in elections scheduled for later this year, officials said today.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, head of the country’s biggest party, the Nepali Congress, met today with Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the Nepali Congress Democratic, to work out the reunification of the party. “We have agreed in principle. There were lot of agreements reached during today’s meeting, but there are a few things that still need to be sorted out and discussed further,” Deuba told reporters after the meeting.

Deuba said they hoped to reach full agreement by tomorrow afternoon and a joint conference would be held to make the formal announcement.

The Nepali Congress split in 2002 due to differences between senior leaders. Koirala headed the main faction while Sher Bahadur Deuba headed the splinter group, the Nepali Congress Democratic. Both parties are major partners in Nepal's coalition government. The parties are discussing reconciliation in anticipation of an election scheduled for November to a special Assembly that would rewrite the constitution and decide the political future of Nepal. The Nepali Congress won the last parliamentary election, held in 1999.